


About Him

by funkylittlebidiot



Series: About Them [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: + harley!, Bucky Barnes is a Good Guy TM, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Natasha and Tony are family fight me, Skippable Smut, Slow Burn, Team Cap friendly but on thin fucking ice, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-04 03:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20463935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funkylittlebidiot/pseuds/funkylittlebidiot
Summary: If the attack on earth has taught Tony Stark anything, it's to always be prepared. So he brings back the Avengers Initiative and fills it with people, old and new, young and old.One piece is missing though. A mysterious wizard that had helped them safe the world.Now how to convince him to join their ranks?----Stephen Strange takes his Sorcerer Supreme duties very seriously. However, it's not easy saying "no" to Tony Stark.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally got desperate enough for Ironstrange Content that I wrote my own fic. It's around 45K and will be updated twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. It's basically finished except for some minor editing and the epilogue, so it won't be abandoned or anything. 
> 
> Also ignore Elsa. She's around but not important. Purely here for my own enjoyment and to lowkey start off the plot. 
> 
> Please bear with me for the first few chapters; it gets better I promise. 
> 
> Find my on Tumblr @funkylittlebidiot https://funkylittlebidiot.tumblr.com/

Becoming a sorcerer had many advantages. For one, he was never bored if he didn’t want to be. There was a whole library at his disposal, thousands of different texts to scour through. He could hunt down magical relics, investigate mysterious sightings or study a new language.

However, ever since becoming sorcerer supreme and master of the New York sanctum, something had been bothering him.

Silence.

The hospital had never been quiet. Even what they’d call the silence before the storm was always filled with noise; nurses chatting, wheels scratching against the floor, the beeps of the different monitors, doctors arguing about the best approach, …

Then there were the days filled with chaos. Screams of patients, the bustling of visitors, interns rushing past. To Stephen, the louder the noise, the better. He excelled in chaos. His sharp mind rushing ten steps ahead to come up with procedures, solutions, his hands working even faster to fix what could be fixed.

Even when he’d started spending more time in operating rooms, his timetable filling with only the most prestigious and rare cases, ones that he knew he could do in his sleep, he always played music. His mind needed a challenge. Needed the boost of knowing its own intelligence.

Silence meant sitting in his apartment alone. It meant an unoccupied mind. Sometimes there is nothing more dangerous. 

That’s why it had been such a relief to arrive in Nepal. The streets bustling with people, his head focused on the task at hand.  
Though the halls of Kamar Taj were often quiet, all residents mindful of people meditating, it had another thing going for it: plenty of distractions. Even his dreams – more like astral projection - were filled with books, studying and learning and evolving. 

But now, as the new appointed master of the New York Sanctum, he realised that the temple hadn’t been silent at all.

He missed hearing his neighbour shuffle around his room at ungodly hours, the sound of whispering at the end of the hall, the sparring of students that could be heard through an open window. The sanctum was empty and silent and cold.

He had half a mind to ask Wong to borrow his mp3 player, but he knew his friend wouldn’t even entertain the idea, so he had to make do with the little radio in the living area.

Stephen fidgeted with his cup of tea, making his rounds through the sanctum for the fifth time that morning. He was at a loss.

The night had been spent fighting off a minor attack on a small village in Argentina - quite routine fix really - but it had left him filled with pent up energy, the stark contrast of the sanctum to the cries of the night before itching at his skin.

Did it make him a bad person to hope for another threat so he could get out of the sanctum for a bit?

He chose to not think about it. Instead, he forced his mind to think of something else, that else turning into the Avengers really quick.

The New Avenger initiative had formed a month after the Thanos Attack had happened. They had been unprepared to say the least, with most ‘heroes’ in exile and the Avengers Initiative fallen apart. Stephen commended Stark for picking it up again now. He’d barely followed the Civil War case, seeing as he had spent 40 hours of that week in the OR and after the dust had cleared, he’d been too focussed on how much he’d screwed up his own life. 

According to Stark, there were ten new Avengers already signed on, with 3 consultants for emergencies, and the negotiations for bringing the rogues back had been ongoing for the last few months.

Stephen didn’t really get why they needed to Rogues back in the first place, seeing as they already had more members now than ever before, but he guessed after the Alien Invasion everyone was a little paranoid.

_He was standing at the top of the large staircase, staring at a disgruntled looking Tony Stark. _

_Stephen watched as the man noticed him, already on the defence._

_“You could just open the door like a normal person, you know.” _

_Stephen raised an eyebrow at the engineer, noting the faint glow coming from his chest. “What are you doing here, Stark?”_

_The man looked less than impressed, “Alright, no nonsense. Getting straight to the point; I like that.”_

_“Somehow I doubt that.”_

_Stark gave him a look. Stephen suppressed the urge to smile. “As I was saying; I’m pretty sure you must have heard from a little group called the Avengers. I’m here to convince you to join.”_

_Stephen let the cloak lower him to the floor, gliding over the stairs until his feet touched the ground a few feet in front of the smaller man, who stubbornly kept his eyes on him the entire time. “Last I heard, the Avengers were still split up.”_

_Stark’s eyes cast down for a second, face hardening, his defences not letting down. “Exactly why I’m looking for new recruits, Gandalf.”_

_Stephen narrowed his eyes at the nickname, keeping his gaze locked on Stark’s. “The masters of the mystic arts do not concern ourselves with whatever it is you do.”_

_Smirking, Tony replied; “Yeah, well what is it exactly that you do? Besides, making balloon animals of course.”_

_Stephen rolled his eyes at the familiar words. Douchebag. “Really, Stark?”_

_“I’m serious! Why exactly can’t you ‘protect reality’ as an Avenger? You had no problem helping us with Thanos.”_

_Stephen let out an exasperated huff, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I have a duty to protect the sanctum. When there are threats to our realm, I have to be ready in a moment’s notice. Call me when there is another world ending event.”_

_“Look,” Stark continued, sighing, “at least let me try to woo you like all new recruits. At the end you can take great joy in denying me.”_

Stephen guessed he _could _sign up as one of the consultants, but he was already on thin ice as sorcerer supreme as it was; he hadn’t forgotten Mordo’s words. So, he had followed the tour around the compound, heard Stark’s pitch, but in the end had politely declined.

He passed the doors of the living area of the sanctum; his attention being caught by the small radio that stood in the corner. The 70s hit list that had been playing earlier seemed to have been interrupted by an emergency newscast. The host sounded panicked as they relayed the info surrounding a current attack in Brooklyn, seemingly quickly moving towards the island of Manhattan.

He might as well.

He placed his cup of tea on the table, taking out his sling ring and soon enough he was floating over the Brooklyn bridge, taking in the sight in front of him.

Honestly it didn’t seem like anything the New Avengers couldn’t handle. He could already see a perimeter being formed, heroes evacuating civilians, and a flash of red and gold flying straight ahead into what seemed to be an enhanced human swirling around a white mist. However, it seemed the human in question was using magic, even if not the mystical arts, so no one could fault the Sorcerer Supreme for butting in, could they?

The cloak flew him over towards the source, temperatures dropping as he neared the ground. Even through his gloves, he could feel the steel pins in his hands start to protest. He cast a quick warm-up spell around himself, for whatever good it was going to do now, before taking in the scene in front of him. 

\----

Iron man was flying around a young girl, probably barely in her twenties, repulsors aiming for her torso. 

“You know,” he said, voice coming through his speakers loud and clear, attention solely on the young woman; “I was having a pretty decent day.”

“Stay back,” the girl yelled back, seemingly cowering into herself as she looked around at her own destruction.

Honestly to Iron Man’s standard the girl wasn’t doing so much damage. There were a few cars speared through, but mostly she just left behind a thick layer of snow and ice. Most New Avengers had even stayed behind at the compound. He just had to continuously remind himself that the mist was blue instead of red. That didn’t mean it wasn’t as evil, but at least it helped keep his mind clear and his heart from racing.

“Let’s make a deal,” Tony continued, landing a few feet in front of her, repulsors still aimed and ready, “you undo this mess and I’ll let you go with a warning.”

“I can’t! I don’t know how!”

“Mr. Stark.” Tony looked up as a familiar figure landed next to him, cloak billowing slightly. 

“Wizard.”

The wizard in question rolled his eyes as he turned toward the girl, who seemed to be looking for a way to escape, wide eyes roaming over the surrounding structures. 

“I do believe you’re scaring the girl.”

“I mean,” Tony threw his head back in frustration, still not letting his guard down, “no offense, Dumbledore, but isn’t that kind of the point?”

Tony was satisfied when the sorcerer huffed in exasperation, but he was ignored as the man in question stepped closer to the little witch? Mutant? Alien? These days anything goes.

“My name is doctor Stephen Strange. Can you tell me your name? I promise no harm will come to you. I’m a master of the mystic arts and I can help you,” he continued stepping closer, the girl’s eyes focussing on him with a trembling lip. If Tony hadn’t already been convinced the young adult hadn’t done any of this intentionally, he totally would now. There was hope in the girl’s eyes, desperation clear in her features.

She already seemed to be calming down slightly, the mist around them getting thinner as her panic subsided.

“I’m-” 

“Elsa!” Tony turned as he saw an even younger girl running towards them, her strawberry blonde braids trailing after her. As soon as the magic user - Elsa - saw the girl, the panic in her eyes returned with a vengeance, she backed away, stumbling over her own feet as a new wave of cold started rolling off her.

“No, Anna, stay away!” She turned towards Stephen, apparently putting her trust in him as her best chance, eyes pleading, “keep her away from me!”

Tony stepped in, snatching the girl as she tried to run past him.

“Leave her alone,” She yelled, thrashing against the suit to get out of his grip. Lifting up his faceplate, he locked eyes with Stephen, who nodded slightly and returned his attention back to Elsa. He himself turned towards the clearly panicked Anna.

“Anna, is it,” he asked her, and when he got no response continued talking, “Do you know who I am?” 

“I need to get to my sister,” the young girl insisted, tears rolling from the corners of her eyes as she realised that she couldn’t break his hold.

“Hey, look at me,” Anna glanced his way, but quickly focussed back on Elsa and Stephen. Stephen seemed to have been able to approach Elsa without any trouble and was apparently talking her into sitting with him, the sorcerer himself already cross-legged on the ground. Tony would have thought it funny if he himself hadn’t been talked through anxiety attacks plenty of times.

“Your sister is in good hands. See Stephen over there? He’s a wizard, he’ll know how to help her.”

And indeed, the air already seemed to be getting warmer, the layer of snow getting thinner and thinner.

“She hates me.” Tony frowned down at Anna at the words, tears now running freely. “It’s all my fault. I had to go and provoke her!”

Tony moved his grip on the girl, holding her by the shoulders so he could forcefully turn her towards him. “If she hated you, she wouldn’t have bothered keeping you away. She obviously cares too much about you to let you get hurt.”

Anna nodded slightly at that, tears spilling down her cheeks and Tony continued. “We’re going to continue trying to help your sister, but I reckon it won’t be easy for her.”

If Tony was right to say her powers were tied to her emotions - he shuddered slightly thinking about the Scarlet Witch – and the girl was so clearly afraid of them, she would need some serious training. And probably therapy.

Tony looked over at the sorcerer. The ice was now completely gone, and left was the young girl, sitting on her knees and crying into her hands, Strange rubbing comforting circles into her back. After a little while, Tony thought it was fine to approach, letting Anna go so she could fall down in front of her sister and pull her into a hug. They sat down like that for a little while longer and Tony stepped away to make a few calls to the compound and deal with the possible casualties.

Turns out not many people were hurt, just a few people suffering from minor hypothermia or bruises and cuts from the crowd rushing away from the area. His team had managed to keep people out of harm’s way.

“Anna!” Tony turned quickly at the sound of the strangled yell. The girls seemed to have been trying to stand up when the youngest collapsed. Strange was already checking her vitals and when that just left him with a frown, snapped his fingers and moved them over the girl’s body in a scanning motion. 

“Stark, can I take her to the compound’s medbay?”

“Of course,” Tony frowned. The doctor opened a portal, the cloak lifting off his shoulders to pick the girl up and carry her towards one of the beds. Elsa seemed to be frozen in place, staring in horror at her younger sister. Tony recognised the guilt building in her eyes from his own reflection. 

“Hey,” he said, stepping closer to the girl and leading her into the hospital, portal snapping closed behind her, “she’s in good hands okay. She’ll be fine.”

Elsa stayed quiet, biting her lips, her arms crossed, trapping her hands between her body.

“Elsa, can you come closer, please,” Stephen asked, motioning the woman to near her sister’s bed. Elsa obliged, though a bit wary. “It seems she has been hit by your magic.”

Elsa nodded, tears forming in her eyes, staring at the ground with guilt. But Stephen’s voice hadn’t been accusing and a new kind of respect for the man immediately started blossoming. He would get this stubborn bastard on the team if it was the end of him.

“I could remove it, but I think it would be great practice if you did it yourself.” Elsa looked up at him in shock.

“Can’t you just do it, please,” she begged him. “I can’t control it.”

“Of course you can,” the doctor insisted, stepping closer to her and placing a calming hand on her shoulder. “You did it before. All you have to do is focus and imagine the ice lifting. The magic is an extension of you, it’s tied to your emotions yes, but only because both are controlled by the mind.”

“You’ll step in if it doesn’t work?”

“Of course,” the doctor nodded sincerely, taking a step back and motioning for Elsa to give it a try.

With a shaky breath, Elsa lifted her hands above Anna’s chest, a last tear rolling down as she closed her eyes and focused on what she needed her magic to do.  
  
Tony watched as Anna’s body started to relax, her strawberry blonde hair turning a deeper shade of red, her breathing returning to a more regular pace. Anna’s eyes opened and she sat up with a gasp, eyes turning towards her older sister. 

“What happened?” she looked around the room in confusion, before turning to her sister. “Elsa?”

Anna tried to reach out, but Elsa took a step back, hands tucked away again. She turned her attention to Stephen instead, clearly shivering, but Tony doubted it was the cold that was bothering her.

“Do you have any gloves I can borrow?”

Tony watched as the sorcerer’s lips twitched in a sad smile.

“Of course.” He opened a small portal and pulled out a pair of yellow gloves, matching to the ones he was currently wearing. “Though we might have to get you your own as these aren’t really your style.”

Elsa smiled gratefully and pulled them on, visibly relaxing once her hands were covered. The doctor was right though as the gloves were ridiculously big on the young woman’s hands. 

Tony stepped forward then, sending his suit back towards the lab so he was left wearing his business clothes.

“So, this was fun,” he said, focussing on the youngest girl, “any guardians that need to be contacted?”

Anna glanced at Elsa with a pained look, “Elsa is my guardian. Our parents died a few years back.”

Tony nodded in understanding, turning towards the oldest girl. “That makes things easier; I’d like for you to move into the compound.”

“What,” Elsa asked bewildered. Her eyes darting towards her younger sister.

“You, young lady, need training and frankly, I’m not comfortable letting you roam free without it.”

Elsa grimaced, but nodded slightly, glancing towards Stephen. Tony let out a sigh of relief, relaxing his shoulders slightly and turning towards the blonde, a look of sympathy sliding over his features. “Look, I promise you’re not a prisoner, nor are you on house arrest. You and your sister can both stay here and train with the good doctor over there.” He sent Strange a questioning look, who just nodded in agreement. “When you feel comfortable enough with your powers, we can talk about you joining the New Avengers,” Elsa eyes widened at that, a doubtful expression crossing her features, “but know that you won’t owe it to anyone to join. It’s completely up to you.”

“What about Anna? She’s still in school.” Elsa glanced at her sister, who only had eyes for her, but refused to meet her eyes.

“Who cares about that, I’m eighteen” the younger huffed, reminding Tony of his spiderling. Speaking off, he really needed to check up on the kid soon.

“Don’t worry, she’s not the only teen here. Happy can drive her to school and back. She’ll be totally safe.”

“We’ll accept.” Tony glanced at the younger girl, who stubbornly crossed her arms and had apparently given up on trying to get her sister to look at her.

“Anna,” Elsa started, but was interrupted by her younger sister once more.

“What else are you going to do; just ignore me for three more years? You can’t hide your powers from me anymore.” Voice gaining a bitter edge, Anna kept her gaze locked on Tony. “I’d like to stay.”

“Fine.” Elsa looked at the ground after her sister’s words, eyes only sliding up to Tony’s shoulder as she next spoke. “Thank you.”

Tony nodded his head, “Great, that’s settled then. I actually have to check up on something now. Pepper will come and get you for your tour and to show you your rooms. If you would like to get some things from your home, Happy will gladly drive your wherever you need to go.”

The girls nodded and Tony focused on the doctor. “Strange, may I have a word with you?”

The doctor nodded and followed the engineer out of the room. As soon as they were in the hallway, he turned around to face the taller man.

He tried to read the sorcerer, but either he was practiced at hiding his true emotions, or he was feeling neutral. It was the same expression he’d had throughout their trip to Titan. Tony had thought Stephen had warmed up to him by the time he was dusted, though maybe those had been extraordinary circumstances. “Thank you, for coming to help and for agreeing to train Elsa.”

“It was no problem. It was a matter of magic after all.”

Tony smirked at the words, “not exactly your ‘mystic arts’ though was it.”  
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Stephen stepped away to start making a portal. “You’re welcome, Stark.”

And he was gone.

\----

It was two hours later when Tony stepped into the common area to find a mopey teen sitting in front of the television. The screen showed some kind of kids’ channel playing cartoons.

  
The child in question was laying on the couch, wrapped in blankets.

“Hey kid, you feeling better?” Tony smirked down at Peter, who refused to meet his eyes or take them off the cartoons.

“Seriously, Pete? You know I couldn’t have let you out in that cold! Take it up with your spidey-DNA.”

The teen’s resolve faltered immediately as he glared at Tony. “You put heaters in my suit!”

Tony gave him an amused look, “And I can take them out again if you’re going to use it against me.” 

Peter’s eyes widened as he rushed to apologize, but Tony just smiled at him and ruffled his curls. “Don’t get smart with me, Pete.”

“Yes, sir.” Apparently satisfied the engineer wasn’t actually mad, Peter came up from the blankets and turned towards Tony who walked into the open kitchen. 

“Where’s Harley,” Tony asked as he turned the espresso machine on. Peter, ever the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, had popped over from Queens to help. School had ended two hours ago though, yet the other teen was nowhere in sight

“Either training with aunt Nat or detention,” Peter yelled back over the noise of him putting in Mario Kart.

“Again?” Tony sighed, preparing another espresso shot. He should have known better than to adopt two disaster teenagers.

“So, what happened after uncle Rhodey took me home?”

“Remember the wizard?”

\--

The wizard in question smiled even as he let out an exhausted sigh. When he’d come back from the compound all he had wanted to do was research Elsa and her magic. Two years ago, he found out magic existed. Now, it seems, just when he thought he knew what magic was and how it fit into the fabrics of the world, he was hit with a new type to mess his hypothesis’ up.

He didn’t mind; it kept him engaged and he loved learning new truths about the world. 

His plans, however, were cut short when his hands started acting up again. It was the easiest way to ruin his day. Every time he thought he’d gotten over it, or whenever he got cocky enough to think the phantom pains were of the past, one cramp would set him straight immediately.

Sometimes he’d get the sick urge to get into his Lamborghini and head out onto the highway, always at least 40 miles over the speed limit. He had never been self-destructive – too convinced of his own importance to let anything happen to himself – but he couldn’t help but long to let out his pent-up energy the ways he used to. Rare nostalgia to his past life.

Instead, sat in front of the fireplace in the living area, calming cup of tea floating in front of him as he tried to calm his mind. Astral projection helped avoid the pain. 

He was interrupted though, by Wong stepping through a portal. Stephen winced.

“I’m so sorry, I completely forgot.”

“Forgot,” Wong asked, narrowing his eyes the tiniest bit. “How could you have forgotten?”

“I was doing research,” Stephen explained, pointing at the table where his books were still laid out. He realised his mistake too late as Wong immediately sent him a betrayed look and moved to put bookmarks between the pages and close them.

“Really, Stephen, is this what you do when I’m not around? Am I going to walk in next time to you throwing thousand-year-old, one of a kind tombs into the fireplace?”

Stephen supressed the urge to roll his eyes, instead leaning his head back against the comfortable chair he was sitting in. “Only on Thursdays.”

As usual, Wong was not impressed by his humour, but he gave up on the subject and instead placed a bag on the coffee table. Stephen immediately sat up straighter.

“Is that from that place –“

“Yes, it is,” Wong replied before he could finish, “I’m starting to regret bringing it.”

“Wong, I’m so sorry I promise to never mistreat books ever again.” Stephen was quick to assure, moving forward to grab his food greedily.

“So, I guess you want that debrief now?” He asked, glancing at Wong who was grabbing his own container. He told him about what happened in Argentina while they ate. Describing the kind of creatures and how he’d gotten rid of them. He thought he’d been pretty elaborate, and it was definitely nothing they hadn’t seen before, yet by the end of his story Wong was looking at him in confusion. “What?”

“I was just wondering what that had to do with the blessing of Arendelle.”

“Ah,” Stephen replied, trying not to look too sheepish, “there was an attack on New York earlier today. A young girl seems to have powers that resemble said blessing.”

“Attack? The blessing of Arendelle is not usually malicious.” Wong pondered it for a second, before he frowned at Stephen. “Where is the girl now?”

“She’s staying with the Avengers, where I’ll be training her.” Stephen admitted. “It seems she’s afraid of her own powers, which is negatively affecting said powers.”

“Fascinating,” Wong said, taking a bite from his food. Stephen hadn’t expected that answer. He’d expected a lecture, but instead his friend was intrigued. Granted, from what he’d read it seemed that the blessing of Arendelle was a rare gift indeed. The only documented case was tied to a family line in Norway, which seemed to have gone dormant during the last couple of centuries. 

“So, you don’t mind that I’m working on this besides my sorcerer duties?” Stephen had to ask.

“Why would I mind.” Wong frowned. “As I’ve said before, we’re not monks. Besides, it seems these _are _part of your Sorcerer Supreme duties.”

Stephen nodded in silent agreement, but couldn’t help but shake the feeling of doubt and guilt building in his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates THURSDAY and SUNDAY

Tony was swamped. Trying to find new recruits, while working on fixing the accords and getting the rogues pardoned, was taking up most of his days. His nights used to be spent in the labs rather than his bed, finding that to be the only time he could take some time for himself. Peter sometimes joined him, but Tony never let him stay downstairs after midnight. When the kid left to go to bed, Tony would blast his music and work, finding comfort in the physical labour of working on his suits, his bots or his cars.

But ever since Thanos was defeated and the compound had started filling with not only enhanced adults, but more teens as well, he felt like he had a responsibility to not spiral back into unhealthy habits. Sleep however, even though less elusive now that he was taking the anxiety meds, wasn’t always peaceful.

Dreams still plagued with images of darkness, empty space, not-so-empty space, and a shield glinting above him.

The mornings though, always immediately lifted his spirits. Peter had gotten the brilliant idea to start having “family breakfasts” which basically meant that everyone who was available would have breakfast together. Every Sunday, they would have food delivered from a different place in the state, and they had started a rank list for all of them. Currently at the top was a random diner from close to the Pennsylvanian border. It had been undefeated in the last eight weeks.

Tony walked into the common room and took an inventory of everyone present. Today, it seemed, both Rhodey and Carol had been able to join, though they were sitting huddled together over what was clearly a work tablet. Jessica and Luke were also there, which was less rare but still a surprise, and they were sitting next to Vision and Maya. The kids were always present and were chatting loudly over one another around the kitchen table. Anna had stuck to Elsa for a bit as they had first moved in, but it didn’t take long for her to join Harley and Peter. Tony did a double take though, when he realised that not only had Elsa joined as well (often still sticking to solitude even in the compound), a familiar sorcerer was sitting in front of her.

“Hi there, Macbeth,” he said after grabbing a plate for himself and dropping in to sit next to Elsa, “Nice of you to join.”

“Stark,” the doctor said impassively. He hadn’t seen the sorcerer around much. He was aware of his training schedule with Elsa, having arranged it himself, but he had only communicated with the wizard through text since Elsa’s ‘attack’.

“I hope it’s okay,” Elsa said quickly, turning towards the engineer, “I feel better knowing he’s around.”

“Don’t worry, princess,” Tony calmed the young woman, keeping his eyes on the sorcerer, “he’s an avenger so of course he’s always welcome.”

He actually admired the young woman for how careful she handled her magic. He was sorry that she always felt like she had to keep to herself, but it was a show of her good character that she worried about other people’s safety first. At least in his book.

“I’m not an Avenger.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at the sorcerer, smirking slightly. “Aren’t you?”

It was only then that he noticed the sorcerer wasn’t wearing his usual robes. Instead, he was sporting a maroon garb in the same style as his usual outfit, but more simplistic in nature. The garbs didn’t have any sleeves, and Tony’s eyes immediately fell to the sorcerer’s arms. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought Stephen was fit before, but this was the first true evidence he’d seen of it. Well besides everything else about him. His arms were thin but defined, showing off elegant strength. It was more than a little bit distracting.

Just then a huge burst of laughter from the teens made Tony snap out of his staring and he turned towards their side of the table, ignoring the smirk the sorcerer sent him.

“Don’t you have school to get to,” he yelled over at them.

Of course, it was Harley who replied with his usual scoff, “It’s Sunday.”

\-----

Stephen walked through the halls of the compound. He didn’t actually have a destination in mind. Didn’t even have a reason to be here still. His training with Elsa had ended fifteen minutes ago, but he knew that if he left for the sanctum he’d just be alone again. He had been hesitant to join everyone for breakfast earlier that day, but it had been him who had pushed Elsa to join in the first place, so he could hardly say no to her conditions. Now, he already missed it. It had been forever since he had a meal surrounded by laughter, being able to chat in between bites with someone other than Wong.

“Yo, Sabrina!”

Stephen frowned as he turned towards the door he had just walked past. It seemed he had made his way into the lower levels, as Stark was sitting at a work bench in what seemed to be his lab. He was wearing a simple, long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, which was the most casual he had seen him to date.

“Stark,” Stephen replied, moving to stand in the doorway. The engineer seemed to take note of his hesitation and motioned for him to come in.

“I wanted to talk to you.” He put down whatever it was he was working on and clarified at Stephen’s questioning expression. “How’s the princess’s training going?”

Stephen rolled his eyes at the engineer’s nickname. According to Colonel Rhodes, it had been Stark himself who had first called Elsa the Snow Queen, which everyone immediately had agreed should be her superhero codename, but now refused to call her as such. Apparently, she ‘hasn’t had her coronation yet’.

“She’s making great strides. She’s gaining a lot of control and confidence and we’re finding new ways to apply her power each day.”

“That’s wonderful news. You think she can join regular training soon? We’re kind of short on magic users.”

Stephen sighed, “I’m not sure yet. Training is going fine, but the therapy sessions still show a lot of insecurity.” He had been asked to sit in due to her powers still leaking out when her emotions got too much of her. It was clear that the girl was dealing with a lot of guilt from past trauma and her parents’ deaths. “She doesn’t fully understand how to keep her powers and emotions separate, yet. We could try to keep her focussed on the good emotions, but in the end, they need to become completely separate for her to not be at risk when things become too much.”

“Alright. So, you ready to sign into the avengers yet,” Tony changed the subject with a smirk. He picked up his tools again as he continued speaking. Stephen found himself wishing he had still been wearing his training outfit, longing for the engineer’s attention to be solely on him again. He didn’t dare believe Stark had been staring _per se,_but it’s not like Stephen isn’t aware of the extra muscles he’d gained over the years out of the OR.

“Stark- ,“ Stephen started, a warning tone in his voice.

“No, hear me out!” Tony looked up again, making Stephen smile in satisfaction, and stepped around his work bench, closer to the sorcerer. The shorter man had to tilt his head to look up at him.

“Fine,” Stephen relented. It was unfair how easily distracted he was by the engineer. He has loved his eyes since their first meeting, dark and soft and full of worry for the people he cared about. Now they weren’t facing an angry grape, though, he was starting to notice other things he liked about his features. Like his eyelashes or the way his lips tilted upwards into an almost-smile.

“Look, I know you have your sorcerer crap,” Tony continued, ignoring Stephen’s unimpressed glare. “And that will remain your main priority. However, I have some possible new teenage recruits coming in. One of them is a magic user.” This clearly piqued Stephen’s interest, and Tony smirked, knowing he was getting what he wanted. “However, I’m not sure of her powers. She mainly uses a special sceptre and I don’t think she has powers beyond that. She needs a trainer.”

“Stark, If I wanted to teach, I’d have stayed at Kamar Taj. At least there I’d be dealing with adults.”

“Oh come on, Blocksberg, you don’t seem to mind working with Elsa?” Stark had the audacity to pout at Stephen, eyelashes fluttering even as he frowned up at him. The worst part; Tony didn’t seem aware that he was doing it or the affect it was having on the last bits of composure Stephen had left.

“She’s an adult.”

Tony shot him a grimace, “Come on, she’s nineteen! Please?”

“Fine,” Stephen grumbled, “I’ll help train her, but that’s it.” He wasn’t going to admit it, but he felt relieved. If anything, it would be a good excuse to come out to the compound more. Tired of hanging around the sanctum alone, all he needed was a good excuse for poor Wong, who, as Stephen’s only friend left, had basically become his vice-sorcerer supreme. Also, Tony’s eyes were like really, _really _brown.

Stark groaned and rolled his eyes, “You’re impossible. But thanks.”

Stephen took note of Tony’s neck as it rolled with the force of his eyeroll. Very dramatic indeed. In fact, Stephen noticed, they were standing pretty close together. Stark was still looking up at him, and something flashed behind his eyes. Before he could try and figure out what exactly, it disappeared. It was unsettling to say the least, creeped out by the weird sensation it induced in Stephen’s stomach. Taking a step back, he turned around the lab, “So, what is the infamous Tony Stark working on?”

Tony cleared his throat, returning to his place behind his workbench. “Well, I was actually working on a new pair of leg braces for Rhodey. I’ve got the tech down, but it’s not where I want it to be yet. I’m thinking it’s an issue with connecting the tech to the nerves, but Bruce is still in New Asgard and he’s the biology guy.”

“I can help, if you want,” Stephen offered, taking a step towards the workbench and glancing at the blueprints laid out on top of it. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, turning towards the sorcerer. “No offense, doc, but I thought you had mentioned magic couldn’t fix paralysation.”

Stephen smiled sadly, remembering it having been one of the first things Stark had asked when going over his abilities, well after the whole ‘can it defeat Thanos’. “For your information, I earned my title as doctor. Neurosurgeon actually.”

“Wait, hold up!” Tony held his hand up, head shaking in disbelief. “_you’re _Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange,” Stark asked, “I had hoped to consult with you when Rhodey first had his accident. You’re supposed to be a genius.”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he teased, before smiling remorsefully, “Sadly, I was on my way to Kamar Taj by then.”

Tony frowned at the change in atmosphere, before letting it slide and focussing on the topic at hand. “I’d love your input now, if you have the time.”

Stephen’s smile grew softer, before he winked. “It’s why I offered.”

\------ 

Stephen walked into the training area. It was empty as usual around this time of day. Elsa was already there, wearing her usual training garb. It was a mirror of Stephen’s own, though hers was a light baby blue instead of the maroon colours preferred at Kamar Taj. Stephen watched from a distance as Elsa played around with her magic, letting it dance around her fingertips as they had practiced during their first lesson.

_“Don’t be scared of it,” Stephen encouraged the young girl as she called on her powers. It was clear that it wasn’t quite as reassuring as he’d hoped it to be. Her hand was held in front of herself, but she wrapped her body around it, as if to shield it away from the world. _

_“Remember that we’re in the mirror dimension. You can’t hurt anything or anyone in here. Let it out,” he tried again, opening his arms to accentuate his words._

_Tentatively she started calling on her magic, flinching as it sprung outwards from her, the ground under her feet slowly freezing over. Another approach then. _

_“Elsa, I want you to let out the biggest blast of magic you can. I want the walls to be covered in ice. Let it _all_out.”_

_“What,” the girl asked, looking up with wide eyes, glancing around at the training room. _

_“You can’t hurt me, I’m protected. Focus on forcing the magic _out_. Push it as far away from you as possible. Let it go with all of your fears and frustrations.”_

_The girl sighed and closed her eyes. Stephen watched as her face twitched, anger cracking through her features, brows furrowed as a tear welled up in the corner of her eyes.  
The next moment she let out a yell, screaming as she pushed her arms forward and turned around. Ice burst out of her outstretched palms, seeping out from her feet as it quickly crawled over the walls and covered the training equipment in a thick layer of snow. _

_“Look,” Stephen urged her to open her eyes and she slowly obliged, gaze sliding over the frozen walls, the ice crystals hanging from the ceiling. Her mouth fell open in awe as she took it all in. “Nothing is damaged. Do you think that was everything you needed to let out or do you want to do it once more?”_

_“No, I-,” she started, clearly not knowing how to continue._

_“Good, now try to use your magic again. This time instead of using all force, try doing something small. Do as you did before, but on a smaller scale.”_

_Stephen watched as the witch opened her palms and a small burst of snow sprang forward, pressing together into one big icy flower. A small, proud smile graced his lips. _

“Miss Anderson,” the young girl looked towards him, smile on her lips. He walked over towards her. “I’m sure you’ve already heard, but there will be some new trainees coming in today.”

“Yes,” she replied politely, “Mr. Stark told us about them yesterday evening.”

“Well, they arrived this morning and one of them will be joining us for our lesson today.” As if on cue, the door opened on the other side of the room and Pepper walked in, followed by a young girl with dark hair and even darker make-up.

“Dr. Strange,” Pepper greeted him with a pleasant smile. Stephen hadn’t interacted with her all that much. She was still mainly in charge of SI, being CEO and all, but she insisted on helping around the compound whenever she could. Stephen assumed it was to keep an eye on Tony, but she also liked to focus on the Junior Avengers in particular.

“Miss Potts,” Stephen answered politely, before turning towards the young girl, “you must be Miss Minoru?”

“Nico is fine,” The girl answered, shifting her foot as she nervously kept eye contact.

“Well, as Miss Potts already mentioned I’m doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme.” Stephen nodded a thanks at Pepper as she turned to leave, before he motioned towards Elsa, “This is Miss Elsa Anderson.”

Nico politely held out her hand to shake. Elsa bit her lip, before looking at Stephen and returning the handshake. She sighed in relief as nothing bad happened. Stephen had made one rule during their lessons; no gloves. Including his own.

They started their lesson. Elsa seemed more subdued now she could potentially harm someone with her magic but was satisfied whenever something went according to plan. Nico used a sceptre for her magic. Stephen had read up on it a little, but not much was known about the artefact as it hadn’t been in one of the sanctums in ages. She used it expertly, but Stephen was curious as to how well the sceptre would hold up in battle situations.

“I’m a doctor,” Stephen started as they moved on to the next topic, “I made an oath to do no harm. I prefer defence over offense, containment over death.”

The two girls nodded along, clearly agreeing with the no harm part. “It’s actively taking the more difficult path. You see, if you have to take the spells that harm out of the equation, there are considerably less options to choose from. That’s difficult in a battle when an opponent is actively trying their best to kill you. On the other hand, we can alter those spells and use them to our advantage. In other words, you have to be creative.”

“Dr. Strange,” Stephen turned around and found the source of the voice. Tony was standing in the doorway, barely paying attention as he was tapping along on a tablet. Stephen smiled.

“Dr. Stark.” The use of the pronoun made him look up from his tablet and frown in confusion. He seemed like he wanted to tell Stephen off, but only then notice the other people in the room. 

“Hey, kids,” Tony started as he walked closer, closing the tablet. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cut this lesson short. I need to borrow your teacher.”

“Sure, Mr. Stark,” Elsa replied politely. Stephen gave them some homework – try to think of ways to use their magic during fights that wouldn’t be harmful – and concluded their training. Turning towards Nico with a small wave at Stephen, Elsa started a conversation with the younger girl as they made their way out the room. “Have you met everyone else yet? I’m sure you’ve gotten the tour.”

Stephen didn’t hear Nico’s reply as the door closed behind them. He focussed on the man standing in front of him. “What can I help you with, Mr. Stark?”

“I _really _want to finish Rhodey’s new braces. I just need a little more input on where to put the sensors.” Tony looked up at him with a pleading smile, making it difficult for Stephen to keep one of his own from breaking through.

“Fine,” He sighed fondly.

“Great,” Stark’s eyes lit up at once. “We better go down to the lab though; Carol is coming up to train with Karolina and we do _not _want to be here for that.”

“Karolina,” Stephen asked as he quirked an eyebrow, looking sideways at the man walking next to him. Their arms brushed together every so often, even in the broad hallways. Stephen chose not to think about it.

“One of the new kids. She’s supposedly half alien like Carol and kind of has similar abilities. Except that she looks like a rainbow while doing it.”

Stephen frowned at that, noticing his expression Tony continued, “yeah, it’s wack. Kind of fitting though, seeing as she and Nico are girlfriends.”

“So, who are the other ones? You didn’t kidnap them, did you,” his voice was teasing, but he was actually curious. Suddenly it seemed like every teen was a lab rat of some sort.

“A, they’re all legally adults so no, and B, they were already runaways so it’s fine. You’ll meet them all later. There’s five of them.” They reached the lab and the doors slid open.

“Do you know where their powers come from,” Stephen asked as Tony led them to the braces he had been working on. They were thin and elegant, more so than the version Colonel Rhodes was using at the moment, but undoubtedly would still give enough support.

Tony thought for a second, before he started counting off on his fingers, “Half alien, sceptre, as you know, made his own repulsor gauntlets, another super-strong mutation, and a girl with a telepathic link to her pet dinosaur.”

Stephen raised an impressed eyebrow, storing the information away to unpack later. “So, the braces…”

“Yes!” Tony excitedly turned towards his new invention, rubbing his hands together.

Stephen liked working together with Tony. He was used to working with people who were supposed to be his equals, but just weren’t. It was hard to find people within your profession with the same passion as you. Even surgeons often thought their jobs a drag. He was used to being the only doctor triple checking scans and looking for deeper problems instead of assuming it was something minor. Sure, he’d cost the hospital a lot of money, but he could get away with it because he made up for it with the outstanding work he did.

With Tony, he found, that passion exceeds profession. He may be not be passionate about neurosurgery on his own, but he was passionate about his own field. You could see with every movement that he loved his work. The precision he put into his machines; how open he was to learn more about subjects if it meant he could make his inventions even greater. For once, when Stephen was explaining his thought process, he found the other person listening and intrigued, mind sharp enough to keep sending questions and getting in deeper on the subject. It was addictive in a way.

He was almost so sad to see it end, that he barely even cared that he had had a hand in what surely must be a medical breakthrough. A man would be able to _walk again. _Last time he’d heard about that happening, magic had been involved.

This, though, was science. Purely the brains and skills of a single man dedicated in helping his friend. _In a way_, Stephen mused, _Tony Stark is his own type of magic._

“So,” Tony said, once he had finished explaining where he’d gotten with his new invention, interrupted by plenty of questions by Stephen. “show me what I’m doing wrong, doc.”

He held out a pen to control the hologram, looking him expectantly in the eyes. Stephen glanced at the pen, lightly twiddling his fingers which had made his way to his back earlier. He’d forgotten to put his gloves back on after training.

Biting his shame away, he held out his hands in front of him, avoiding Tony’s look as he wistfully asked; “Does it work without the pen?”

Tony frowned slightly at the sight in front of him but nodded his head. “Of course. Just point where the electrodes need to go.”

They continued like that for a while and Stephen didn’t miss the curious glances Tony sent him. They weren’t directed at his scarred hands though, instead his gaze was focussed on his face.

Finally, when they had figured out where to place all the connections, Tony turned fully towards Stephen. “May I ask?”

Stephen glanced at the shorter man, before staring at a back wall as he answered. “Right after the whole ‘civil war’, I got in a car on my way to an event. I was speeding and because I’m a major workaholic, I couldn’t resist looking at the scans my colleague had sent through. I drove off the road, right off a cliff and into the water. My hands were completely crushed.”

“Does the magic help?” Tony’s question surprised Stephen into locking their eyes again.

“It does a little, but it saved me in more important ways.”

Tony hummed in understanding and he guessed the man did indeed understand. He appreciated though, when Tony changed the subject back to their project and quickly replaced the sadness with enthusiastic babbling.

All through the rest of their work though, Stephen couldn’t help but glance at Tony every so often, a small smile playing on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to go for the comic version where Alex was a spy for PRIDE as he wouldn't really fit into the New Avengers. 
> 
> Anyway, next chapter: the Rogues come back... 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot 
> 
> https://funkylittlebidiot.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rogues get back. Not very Steve friendly chapter, but no character bashing 
> 
> Also; Clint doesn't have a family in this fic because that sucks (so basically Clint revamp to the comic version)

_Pardoned._

He had heard the word so many times over the last few months, had been forced to believe it a good thing, that it had lost all meaning to him.

He had sat through the meetings, worked on the documents, rewritten the accords and convinced the board members – not that it took much convincing after the whole Thanos business. They had finally gotten the thumbs up from the council, the UN having finalised the paperwork the day prior.

It was a win in Tony’s book. He knew that. He had been working towards this for the last five months. Hours wasted, moments missed, time he’d be getting back now. But what it meant and actually entailed seemed to have eluded him.

The Rogues were pardoned. They were no longer fugitives in the eyes of the law. They were welcome to return to the United States, to the – _Tony’s – _compound, and resume their duties as the Avengers.

They had actually been pardoned a week after Thanos was defeated. The UN figured it was only fair to forgive them for the few lives lost in Bucharest as they had saved half the population. Tony didn’t think it was fair either way. Especially when it was ultimately Thor and Carol who had done all the heavy lifting.

Granted, they still had to sign the accords, but thanks to a little persuasion by a certain Black Widow (and probably finally having read through them) combined with the adjustments Tony had managed to make in the last couple of years, they had finally agreed.

Apparently even with proof that Tony had been right about a larger threat being more important, Steve Rogers still couldn’t let go of his bullshit beliefs.

Tony hadn’t seen or heard from them in years. Natasha had returned as soon as the rogues were safe in Wakanda. She was closer to them then he had ever been, and Tony figured she kind of had an oldest sibling complex ingrained in her by Fury. So, he forgave her.

He had heard about the battle in Wakanda, but even during Thanos’ war, he hadn’t had an opportunity to regroup with them. People had been dusted for a week by the time Carol had found Tony. With a little help from a vengeful god of Thunder and Carol’s energy harnessing abilities to snap everyone back into existence, they had defeated the Titan and Tony had left the public to recover. Apparently, staying up in space for a week without food or water wasn’t good for anyone. By the time he felt well enough to appear around people again, Pepper – at his request – had already started negotiations.

Now it seemed the day of the reckoning was here – oh sorry, the day of _joyeus reunion. _

They were returning later in the day, one of Wakanda’s quinjets set to land in the early evening.

Tony wasn’t too proud to admit that he was hiding.

He didn’t really care about Barton or Wilson. Lange, he didn’t even know. They made their choices, but at least they didn’t hurt anyone. Their one mistake was following _Captain America _and who could blame them for that, really? It was propaganda at its finest.

The witch was more complicated. She raped his mind and blamed him for it, but Rogers was right when he said she was a child at the time. Maybe it was spending time with Harley and Peter that made him realise how _young _seventeen really was. After Ultron, she had seemed ready to change. Tony had stayed as far away from her as possible, but he always kept an eye on her. She had been bonding with Vision, growing into herself and learning to play guitar. Tony wanted to believe that there was something left to safe. Maybe if she had someone to actually tell right from wrong instead of someone who kept excusing her actions, she’d be able to grow into a pretty decent adult. Secretly, he also hoped that would stop the panic she induced in him.

In the end, the only one he was really worried about was Rogers. Even Thanos had taken a backseat in his nightmares, taken over by a vibranium shield over his head. He honestly didn’t know how to feel about the guy. Obviously, there was anger, betrayal and fear, but also something else – something like deeply rooted frustration and maybe resignation?

Avoidance was his main tactic of dealing with that clusterfuck.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said, making Tony snap out of his thoughts, “are you okay?”

Tony looked over at the teen, who had been working on a bench next to Tony’s. He’d been staring off into the distance. “I’m fine, kid.”

“How is the new formula holding up,” Tony asked, moving closer to the teen as he expertly changed the subject. Peter’s look said he’d caught on though, but after giving him one last worried look, Peter allowed it.

“It’s _way _sturdier than the last one,” he spoke eagerly, pointing towards the changes he’d made, “but it’s been more than three hours and it’s still not showing any sign of dissolving any time soon.”

Tony pointed out possible alterations he could try out, before he let the kid continue with his experiments. He took off his sweatshirt, leaving him in his dark tank top. He needed a better distraction. He needed a way to channel his anxiety into something productive. Or in the very least, something he enjoyed doing.

He signalled for Peter to put his earplugs in – Tony had made them specifically to protect Peter’s enhanced senses – and asked Friday to put on his playlist.

Three hours later, he rolled out from under the car he had been working on after the lab suddenly went quiet.

A look around the room showed that Peter was now toying with one of his web-shooters. He guessed the kid had been bored for a while. His attention, however, was caught by the new presence in the lab. 

“I was listening to that, you know.”

“How are you not deaf, yet,” Stephen asked, voice low and wearing his full Sorcerer Supreme outfit, including his Cloak. Tony hadn’t seen the bloody thing in a while. It waved at him, so apparently it still liked him. 

Tony sat up straight but remained on the ground and crossed his ankles over one another as he looked up at the sorcerer. He didn’t answer Stephen’s question though. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you trying to impress someone?”

Stephen looked down at his body, before returning to look at Tony, face impassive. “We have guests coming, remember?”

He remembered. “You want to make a first impression? I thought you weren’t an Avenger?”

“I’m not,” Stephen stated simply.

Something whizzed past Stephen’s head, but the sorcerer didn’t jump. He turned towards Peter with an amused smile and cocked eyebrow.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Dr. Strange!” Peter yelled, probably louder than he intended, because, as he quickly realised, he was still wearing the plugs. He took them out. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“It’s fine, Pete,” Tony assured him, “why don’t you go grab something to eat. Bring me back a sandwich.”

“Okay,” Peter jumped up, clearly glad to have something to do. “Do you need anything, Dr. Strange.”

“I’m good, thanks, Peter.” The doctor assured him, turning back to face Tony as Peter left the lab.

“So, what’s up, doc,” Tony stood up then, tired of sitting still. He moved towards his workbench, putting the table between him and the sorcerer.

“As the rogues don’t know us yet, Carol wanted to introduce them to the new people at the compound. She and Rhodes will be greeting them as they arrive.” Stephen pointedly remained eye-contact and Tony didn’t look away, even though the mention of the rogues made his fingers itch to pick something up, to do something, to _fix _things. “They sent me down here to invite you up as well.”

Tony tried not to flinch at that, but something in the way Stephen was looking into his eyes confused him.

“They do understand though, that you’re a very busy man. And even though they will miss you,” Stephen’s lips twitch up at that, “they want you to know that they appreciate your effort in trying to make it. However, it’s also not a mandatory meeting, so they don’t want you to worry about trying to fit time into your busy, busy schedule.”

Tony gave Stephen a grateful smirk as a wave of relief moved through him. He made a mental note to tell Friday to remind him to thank Rhodey and Carol as well.

He knew he couldn’t keep hiding though.

“Thanks, Strange, but as much as I love avoiding my problems for as long as possible, it will only make the eventual meeting much worse,” he told Stephen, letting his eyes slide down to the table finally and grabbed a piece of metal he had been working on.

“How very mature of you, Stark,” Stephen teased, earning a snort from Tony.

“Yeah, well,” Tony smiled non-committedly.

“Hey.” Tony glanced up at Stephen’s tone, his pale blue eyes softer than he had ever seen them. “It’s going to be fine. They owe the world to you after all you’ve done for them.”

Technically they already did before, but they spit in his face anyway.

\----

Stephen looked out from one of the Penthouse windows. Below, he could see the rogues for the first time. They had stepped out of the cars that had driven them over from the landing strip. Stephen was surprised to find he’d expected them to step out in full hero getup. Instead, they were wearing civilian clothes. Even mister America himself.

Rhodey and Carol stood in front of the building’s entrance. Carol looked stoic in her favourite leather jacket and Rhodes was sporting his newest braces, arms crossed.

Out of all the New Avengers, Rhodey was still the one holding the grudge. Not for himself though, no, for his best friend.

The rogues stopped in front of the two team leaders. Mister Rogers though, stepped closer, hand outstretched. Carol took it, leadership over bias, and walked towards the other rogues to shake their hands as well. This was clearly unexpected to the superheroes, but Stephen knew what she was doing. They couldn’t hide behind their ‘leader’ anymore. 

He could see Carol starting her welcome speech. Satisfaction coursed through Stephen as he saw some of the exvengers, as some media had dubbed them in 2016 like some kind of celebrity break up story, looked at each other uneasily. Once Carol seemed to have finished talking, she turned around and led the way inside. Stephen didn’t see the Rogues follow her as he was distracted by the door opening behind him.

Tony Stark stepped out of his bedroom. Stephen had offered to accompany him downstairs to meet the Rogues, but Stark had needed a shower first. Now, he was dressed in one of his finest suits. It was a grey three-piece with a simple white shirt underneath. His tie was blue with ochre, flowery patterns. Stephen guessed it was Etro. Lightly tinted sunglasses rest on his nose.

There was a slight blue shine peeking through the white underneath his tie.

As much as he appreciated the way Tony looked in his business getup, he realised with a start that he missed the way Tony had looked before. Dark tank top showing off his arms, sweat beading on his forehead, eyes unblocked.

It hadn’t taken long for Stephen to realise Tony only wore the suits when he felt on edge. The more layers and effort he put into his outfits, the less comfortable he felt around the person he was going to meet. The fact he was wearing his housing unit solidified his suspicions.

The thought made him smile softly, remembering all the times he’d seen Tony in a track suit or jeans, housing unit nowhere in sight. It also made him even more pissed off towards a certain Captain America.

“You ready,” Stephen asked, trying to send as much calm as he could in Tony’s direction.

“Yeah,” Tony exhaled, readjusting his sunglasses. “The kids are where they’re supposed to be, right Friday?”

“Yes, Boss,” the AI replied, “Everyone is accounted for. They’re sitting in their living room playing boardgames.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

\---

Stephen kept a subtle eye on Tony as they neared the meeting room where the Rogues were undoubtedly getting their introduction lecture. The door was open, and they heard Carol going on about training sessions.

They slipped inside, Tony keeping his eyes on the phone he had taken out of his pocket a second earlier. It was easy to see the tension in his shoulders, even as he tried to seem casual. Stephen looked around the room as they sat down in their chairs. He had noticed Rogers’ eyes falling on Tony the second he had entered the room, making a move to get up and say something before the Winter Soldier put a hand on his arm and directed his attention to Carol who had continued on as if nothing had happened.

Stephen was pleased to see the other Rogues sheepishly avoided looking at Tony as well.

Stephen glanced over at Tony’s phone screen. It was dark.

“Now I’ve explained the training schedules, let’s talk about the compound,” Carol continued. She explained about their bedrooms – Tony had put them as far as possible from his own penthouse – the cafeteria and communal kitchens, common rooms, training room access and finally; “Restricted areas.”

“What? Since when are there restricted areas,” the grumpy man with the mohawk piped up. Hawkeye, Stephen assumed. “Keeping, secrets Stark?”

Stephen watched as Tony flinched. It wasn’t obvious, but Stephen had been looking for it. The slight twitching off his fingers and the tension in his jaw enough indication. To Stephen’s satisfaction though, Tony hadn’t been the only one. Mr. Rogers clearly had a bad conscious.

“Mr. Barton, not that it’s any of your concern,” Carol continued, as always a professional, “but the East wing is restricted because it’s not part of the New Avengers Initiative and therefore you have no entitlement to it. The labs are open only for the scientists of the team. As I recall, none of you have a PhD… in Science.”

Stephen smirked at the pause she left after PhD. The rogues remained quiet. He glanced around at the people present. It seemed as if Stephen and Tony were the only ones who had shown up for orientation, the others probably coming by later to meet the Rogues. Even Natasha was nowhere to be found, probably not sure where she stood with her old team. Or maybe she did and she was avoiding them.

Wilson and Barnes sat at either side of Rogers. Barnes was clearly paying attention, nodding along with Carol’s words. Wilson was more subdued, but Stephen could see that the man assessing the new information given. Barton seemed angry, though at whom, Stephen couldn’t say. Lange was just bored.

“Now, let’s talk about team assignments and then you can meet everyone else.” The projector behind Carol changed to the topic at hand.

“I’m team leader along with Colonel Rhodes.” She started, a picture of each appeared on the screen. “Each one of us will have a ground and air team at our disposal.”

Carol continued, “My team,” the screen focussed on her picture and showed a list of names, “As you can see most of you are under my supervision, except Hawkeye, who will be joining Colonel Rhodes’ team.”

“What do you mean _your _supervision? Steve is our leader.” Stephen looked at the young girl who had spoken. He could feel the power radiating off of her, red and angry, though she herself seemed more confused than anything.

“Mister Rogers is not a team leader.” Carol stated firmly, “We have put you all together in my team against our better judgement, because that would mean your schedules line up. It was a _kindness. _But if you show any sign of taking orders from anyone that isn’t _me_,” she continued, gaze zeroing in on Rogers, “we will revisit this arrangement.”

Stephen knew there was more to the story. Having everyone in Carol’s team meant she could keep an eye on everyone, and it meant Tony didn’t have to spend any unnecessary time with them. He also doubted Colonel Rhodes could stay unbiased as team leader of the asshole who left his best friend to die in the cold of Siberia.

He watched as the super soldier’s brows furrowed. He also noticed however, that said super soldier’s best friend seemed relieved, even as he tried to hide it from said friend by covering his mouth with his hand.

“Wilson, Rogers, Barnes, and Lange, you will be joined by Daredevil and Iron Fist,” Carol concluded.

“Now,” Rhodey stood up as Carol moved to the side. “My team: air will be me and Tony along with The Wasp.”

“Hope,” Scott Lange whispered in surprise, finally showing interest in the presentation.

“Ground will be Black Widow, Jessica Jones, Maya Lopez, Hawkeye and Luke Cage.”

The man in question didn’t seem too pleased to be paired away from his previous teammates, but he glanced at Natasha’s name and kept quiet about it.

“What about Wanda,” he asked instead.  
  


“We will speak with her after this meeting,” Carol replied, before adding, “in private.”

Wanda, to her credit, didn’t protest, instead looked at Carol with curiosity edged in her features. Steve stared at Tony and Stephen felt the urge to block the engineer’s body from his field of vision.

“You will get to meet the rest of the team later on. You will, however, still need to be cleared before you’re allowed to go on missions.” There were a lot of looks between the rogues at that. Stephen glanced towards Tony who had given up on pretending to work and was now staring straight ahead, presumably lost in thought. Stephen hoped he was thinking of something calming, like the updates for Harley’s suit, and not getting lost in horrible memories. He fought the urge to reach out his pinkie to touch Tony’s hand. 

“What do you mean, “cleared,”” Rogers asked, still staring at Tony as he asked it. Stephen snarled, but Rhodey was quick to answer.

“We need to know you guys are fit to be in the field. You’ll need to go through both psychological evaluation and training to make sure that you guys are good to work in a team.”

Stephen had heard Wilson used to be a counsellor and when he nodded his head in agreement, Stephen got the feeling the man had been wanting to suggest therapy for ages. Maybe he wasn’t so bad either.

“Didn’t we prove we were battle ready during the invasion,” Rogers spoke up. He seemed calm, but there was a clear spark of annoyance in his eyes. Stephen didn’t like it.

“That’s exactly the point, Mister Rogers,” Stephen spoke up before Rhodey could. “It’s not a _battle_. This isn’t war anymore. Can you handle that?”

“Excuse me, but who even are you,” Rogers spoke up, clearly recognising the animosity coming from the sorcerer. “And it’s Captain Rogers.”

“Is it,” Stephen asked, feigning a surprised eyebrow raise. Satisfaction fluttered through his veins as he saw Tony’s lips twitch in amusement.

“Doctor Strange is right,” Rhodey interrupted, before it could escalate. “These aren’t battles, Rogers, these are calculated missions. Minimum collateral damage. There are no ‘enemies’, merely criminals that need to be subdued by a team with our specialties.”

Steve looked like he wanted to add something, but Carol spoke up before he could; “Evaluation before clearance. No negotiation or you’re not going in the field. Simple as that. Can I get a ‘yes, captain’?”

The rogues looked like they wanted to refuse, but Bucky spoke up first as he answered with a polite “Yes, Captain”, and the rest ultimately followed his lead.

“There’s another thing,” Rhodey continued, with a short glance at Tony. “Every so often you will be joined by an Avenger In Training when their skill is deemed useful. They will mainly operate within my team as they’re a subdivision under Mr. Starks orders. Thor, Dr. Banner and King T’Challa will also join missions when needed.”

“Avengers in training?” Rogers asked in confusion, just as Wanda muttered “Skill?”

“They’re none of your concern,” Tony spoke up from besides Stephen, speaking for the first time in the presence of the Rogues.

“Creating your own personal army, Stark,” Barton asked, glaring in Tony’s direction.

“I don’t owe you an explanation, Barton,” Tony spoke up, crossing his arms and glaring at his former teammates, “I don’t owe you anything.”

“That’s the meeting concluded,” Carol spoke up, glaring at Barton, “You’re welcome to go to your rooms now. You’ll get to meet the rest of the team once they arrive.”

“Miss Maximoff,” Carol called over, making a gesture for her to come closer as most Rogues started to leave.

Steve stubbornly refused to stand up, staring over at Wanda. Stephen didn’t fight the urge to roll his eyes at him.

“This is something that only concerns miss Maximoff, Rogers,” Carol insisted.

“She’s a just a kid, you can’t speak to her alone.”

“Actually, I recall her being 20 years of age,” Carol stated.

“Then why are they staying,” he pointed at Tony and Stephen.

“What are you? _Five?_” Stephen couldn’t help himself. “If you must know. We will be discussing her future as an avenger. Which concerns her and her alone. Mr. Stark and myself will be a huge part in deciding that future.”

“It’s fine Steve, just go,” the witch herself spoke up, not looking at him. Stephen frowned as she noticed her twitch uneasily as Steve’s attention was on her fully.

Bucky grabbed Rogers by the arm and dragged him out of the room, for which the sorcerer was grateful.

Wanda sat down in front of Stephen and Tony at the table, Carol and Rhodey leaning back against the far wall, letting the two deal with the matter at hand.

Stephen looked at Tony as the man sat up straighter and looked at the Scarlet witch for the first time. He looked calm and collected, but Stephen could see the shutters up behind the brown eyes.

“Miss Maximoff,” Tony started. The girl looked down at her hands which were rested in her lap.

“Look,” Wanda interrupted them, glancing up at Tony, guilt edged in her features. “I’m sorry for running away during the Civil War.”

Tony was clearly taken aback by that. He had expected more bitter words and resentfulness, yelling about being treated like a child and red magic swirling around. Not in his wildest dreams had he thought he’d get an apology.

“I realise you were only trying to watch out for me, but I was being childish. I didn’t want to face my own mistakes and was afraid I was never going to be able to control my powers anyway.” She looked up at Stark once more, lip trembling and tears welling up in her eyes, but she bit through them. “I’m sorry I took it out on you. I’m sorry I blamed you for my parents. And I’m really, _really _sorry I messed with your mind. Ultron was my fault, Sokovia was my fault, and I’m sorry I didn’t want to accept that sooner.”

Stephen focussed on Tony again. The man seemed clearly distressed at the apology. He reached out under the table and squeezed Tony’s leg in reassurance. He didn’t have to forgive her just yet. Tony startled and looked over at Stephen, before clearing his throat.

“Right,” he started, “apology accepted. I must be honest with you, it will take some time to get over.” Wanda nodded at that; gaze stubbornly fixed on the table as she tried to keep her tears under control. “But that’s not why we called you in here.”

Her gaze snapped up at the words, head tilting in question.

“As you heard in the meeting,” Stephen continued for Tony, giving him a second to catch his bearings. “Mr. Stark will be in charge of the Avengers in training. These individuals aren’t like the rest of the rogues under suspension, they’re just simply too young to go out in the field regularly.”

“There are other young avengers,” Wanda asked. “How?”

“It appears you weren’t the only teen with mutations or enhancements. I offer these individuals training and if they decide to stay and become avengers, they can join as soon as they’re 21,” Tony answered the question, fully composed once more. “As you’re not 21 yet either you are not eligible a full Avengers status.”

“But I turn 21 in only a few months and I already fought with them before,” she frowned, before quickly changing to a sheepish smile, “sorry, just curious.”

Stephen saw Tony smile slightly at that. Stephen didn’t blame him, she reminded him of the other teens. It was hard to remember she was indeed just a young adult at most.

“Just turning 21 isn’t the qualification. A change in date won’t mature you or make you master your skills,” Stephen started. “You mentioned before that you were afraid that you’d never control your powers. As a Junior Avenger you will be training under me to master your skills. Once you have full control over them, you’re allowed to become a full Avenger.”

“Also,” Carol cut in, making Wanda turn to look at her “don’t be so quick to rush into danger, kid. Once you meet the others you might not be so hasty to re-join the old, stuffy heroes.” Carol winked, making Wanda smile.

“Thank you, …” she looked at Stephen with a frown.

“Doctor Stephen Strange,” he held out a shaky hand for her to shake.

“And thank you, Mr. Stark.”

\--------

They finished going over the practical information and gave her an invitation to live in the East Wing with the other Junior Avengers. She accepted after little thought but had to promise not to let any of the rogues in that part of the building. Not that Friday would allow that to happen.

They left Carol and Rhodey to deal with the paperwork and led Wanda out into the hall with them. As expected, Steve was waiting just outside, accompanied by Natasha, who was looking at Steve in frustration. The others were nowhere in sight. It appeared as though they had interrupted something, but Steve’s attention was fully on them now.

Stephen noticed that Tony’s wasn’t the only face that fell serious a soon as they noticed them.

Steve stepped forwards, making Tony take an involuntary step back. Stephen bit his tongue. “Wanda?”

“I’m fine, Steve, you can go to your rooms.”

Steve ignored her, “Where are you taking her? You can’t just throw her out of the avengers!”

Tony rolled his eyes and stepped forward again. “Seriously, Rogers? First things first; I _can _throw any of you out and I _will, _if you don’t stop _pushing me_.” Steve’s face darkened at that, but Tony held his ground. “Second, Wanda has already shown more maturity in the last hour than you have in the last 5 years, so why would I throw her out?” Tony leaned back, shrugging in fake nonchalance. “I’m getting her the help she has needed for the last _two years _– longer, actually but that was on me – but that you deemed less important than your stupid pride.”

Steve looked like he had some opinions on that, but Natasha pulled him back, sending him an angry look, before turning back towards Tony. “I’m so sorry, Tony, he wouldn’t leave.”

“It’s fine, Nat.” He replied, exhaustion seeping through her bones. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to show Wanda to her new room.”

“Of course,” she nodded, dragging Steve along with her.

Tony turned towards Wanda with a tight smile, “Sorry about that. This way,” he motioned for her to lead as Stephen and him fell into step behind her.

Stephen moved closer to Tony, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “You, okay?”

He watched with satisfaction as a real smile crept over the shorter man’s face as if involuntarily, and it reached his eyes for the first time that day. It made him look ten years younger than during the meeting. “Peachy.”

It was only once they stepped into the East Wing though, that Tony seemed to fully relax. There was loud laughter echoing throughout the halls, no doubt coming from the common room around the corner.

“How many others are there,” Wanda asked Tony as they walked past the different bedrooms. Stephen smiled at the slight worry in her tone.

“Well, there are about ten, I think? You included. But not all of them have enhanced abilities.”

They stopped by Wanda’s bedroom. The interior was basic as most rooms first are, but Tony had already had someone move some of her old stuff inside. Wanda smiled at the sight of her old guitar.

“Dr. Strange,” Wanda turned towards the sorcerer. “you said you were a sorcerer?”

“Yes, I am. Sorcerer supreme actually.” Stephen smiled fondly as he saw Tony roll his eyes from where he was standing behind Wanda. He focussed back on the little witch though, as she fidgeted with her fingers and avoided eye contact.

“I’m -,” she stopped and frowned, trying to find the words she needed, “I was wondering if you could maybe take my mind controlling abilities away. At least, until I learn how to fully control them.”

Stephen noticed Tony’s head snap up at that, confusion, hope, suspicion and relief warring in his features as he looked at Wanda’s back in surprise.

“I could do that.” Stephen nodded, keeping one eye on Tony as he looked over Wanda, “why do you ask though?”

“I- ,“ Wanda blushed, “sometimes I honestly can’t control the magic. It’s … I thought it would make it easier for everyone to trust me if I don’t have them.”

Stephen doubted that was all there was, but he wasn’t going to say no. “I’ll take them away fully for now, if you want it done immediately. There are other things we could try like wards and charms to keep them under control, but I’d have to do more research first.”

“Now, please,” Wanda seemed close to begging, so without further ado, Stephen did just as he was asked, leaving the telekinesis. Interacting with her magic, it was even easier to feel the red anger of it, the way it pulsed like a broken heart. It was such a stark contrast to what he’d seen of the witch so far. It could be that she was a psychopath, but Stephen honestly doubted it. He’d have to do more research on this particular type of magic. Elsa had seemed convinced her magic was a curse, even though she was born with it, but maybe that wasn’t such a strange thought concerning Wanda.

Wanda had to sit down for a second after Stephen was done with his spell. Stephen kept an eye on Tony, who seemed to be unsure on what to do or how to react to this turn of events.

“Are you ready to meet the rest,” he asked Wanda and when she nodded, they went back into the hallway and finally rounded to corner. They found the Junior Avengers sitting around the couches watching cartoons. Probably Peter’s choice.

Everyone looked up at the new member, smiling politely and waving, except for Peter and Harley, who checked their mentor silently and send the witch a suspicious glare.

Tony immediately walked over to the biggest couch and fell down between his two kids, nearly crushing them in the process as he lazily stretched out and threw his arms around a boy each. Both of them complained, especially when Tony moved his hands through their hair, but Stephen knew they loved it.

Stephen placed himself in a chair near Elsa, who had been put in charge as the oldest present. Anna was sitting on the opposite side of the room, talking with Molly. 

  
The Runaways, as they had called themselves, had arrived two weeks prior and were already right at home.

He could see the distant look in Elsa’s eyes as she looked at her sister, a small smile itching at the corner of her mouth. He motioned for Wanda to come closer and introduced the two. They would be training together after all, and Stephen figured they had quite a bit in common.

He started a conversation about their next lesson, letting the noise of the room engulf him as his eyes found Tony Stark’s every so often. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a huge grudge with the Russo Brothers for many reasons. Fucking over Wanda's redemption arc is one of them. 
> 
> #StanWandaFromTheFirstHalfOfCivilWar
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @funkylittlebidiot
> 
> https://funkylittlebidiot.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this is my last week of summer vacation and this has just been sitting in my word files, I've decided to post an extra chapter this week. 
> 
> Today's chapter: Stephen finds out about Siberia. 
> 
> Updates on Thursday and Sunday will happen as planned.

The rogues were settling in nicely and as the weeks passed by without any incidents, more and more of them got cleared for active duty.

Peter stayed away from them as much as possible. Not only did he not particularly enjoy thinking about them in their home, he also didn’t want to worry Mr. Stark any more than he had to. He had fought these people. Even as he had thought he had held his ground fairly well, he knew the rogues hadn’t been holding back. Knew they hadn’t cared they had been fighting their own teammates.

It had led to Mr. Rhodes – Uncle Rhodey’s – paralysation, all because they hadn’t cared.

  
He also had accidentally – he swears – listened in on one too many conversations between Mr. Stark and aunt Natasha. Had recognised how much both of them had been hurt by the betrayal, both between them and the Rogues, and between each other.

What really happened in Siberia, though, no one but Uncle Rhodey and Aunt Pepper knew. Peter guessed that the only reason they even knew the real story was because they had been there when Tony had been returned to them. According to the news, Tony had been hurt on a mission. What had caused his injuries though and how bad those injuries truly were, had been kept in the dark.

Peter could only guess by the hollow look in his mentor’s eyes at the mention of the rogues. By the fact that he had only heard from the engineer through text for the first few months after the incident. By the sleepless nights spent in the lab and by the way his hand subconsciously protected his sternum whenever he got startled out of a daze. By the fact that a grumpy teen from Rose Hill Tennessee started coming by during the weekends, the growing rumours about Iron Man retiring.

He had been mostly unharmed during the airport battle, yet had come back hurt from Siberia, a place where he was supposed to be around friends.

“Parker!” Peter was startled out of his thoughts by Matt, pulling his eyes away from Natasha and Harley sparring in the other ring. He glanced sheepishly at Maya Lopez, who was staring at him in amusement.

“Sorry, Mister Murdock,” he quickly apologised for being distracted. Placing himself in battle position again.

“May I remind you that paying attention is the one skill I’m trying to teach you here?” Peter winced, even though the superhero didn’t sound angry. There was a pull at the corner of his lips, but Peter didn’t want to assume the man didn’t mind his behaviour. He was doing Peter a favour after all, and Peter was being rude. “We’ll try one more time. After that we can stop for today.”

Peter sighed in relief. They had been going at this for the last hour and Peter was getting tired. Patrol yesterday evening had run late, causing him to spend the night in his old room with May. It also meant he hadn’t seen Mr. Stark since the previous morning, and he wanted to find him before going back out again.

“Yes, let’s go.” Peter was ready. He pulled his mask down over his head and asked Karen to put on blackout mode.

He focussed on the bodies shifting around him, could hear footsteps to the left of him. The footsteps were light and agile, moving with precision, the breathing emitted from the person soft and determined. He ducked down to avoid Miss Lopez’ punch thrown at him. His instincts told him to do a backwards flip, the grunt and sweep telling him he’d just avoided being thrown off his feet by the Daredevil. 

The room went quiet except for the grunts in the distance from aunt Nat and Harley. He couldn’t pinpoint where Daredevil and the Echo had gone, and he tried to get his breathing under control as he put all his trust towards his spider senses. Once again, he missed a punch aimed at his chest by swerving left, the spider senses going haywire as he ducked. The rolling of a body over the floor behind him told him Echo had missed.

He was getting better at defence, Murdock had already agreed with him on that, but offense was what was still difficult. His spider senses told him where danger was and how to avoid it last minute. He needed to know their movements in advance to block them and attack them in return.

Doing as Matt had told him plenty of times before, he tried to focus on anything other than sound as his opponents weren’t making any. He tried to grab a feel for the atmosphere around him; the way the air felt and how his surroundings were in relationship to his own body.

He could feel the shift in air, before he heard the shuddering intake of breath from Maya. This time, instead of ducking, he stepped towards the movement, crossing his arms in front of his chest to block her punch. The block threw her off her rhythm, stumbling as she tried to pull her arm back. Peter grabbed her arm with his left hand instead, using his right arm to move towards the back of her shoulder. He stepped back, using his leg to hook behind her knee and in one swift movement she was lying on her stomach. Peter pinned her arm behind her back and applied pressure, making sure he wasn’t actually hurting her.

“I did it!” Peter grinned in excitement, pulling of his mask to glance at the scene in front of him. Maya looked at him from over her shoulder, smirking gracefully at her own defeat. 

He looked around for Matt, who was leaning against the cords of the ring. “Maya?”

“He pinned me to the floor,” she huffed, shaking her shoulder as a reminder that Peter could let her go now.

Peter watched as Matt moved his hands up to clap slowly, making Peter’s chest swell with pride. “Good job, kid.”

They cleared up the training room, leaving to the sound of Harley’s laughter at something Nat had told him, and went upstairs to the common area. Miss Van Dyne looked up as they entered. Like aunt Pepper, she mostly spent time between training and missions on the phone or working on a laptop. Mr. Stark had invited her down to work in the lab before, but she had declined, joking that he was planning on stealing her tech. Mr. Stark had found it a pity, but knew the woman was busy trying to run a company.

“Peter, Tony was looking for you,” she told him as Matt and Maya moved to grab something to drink from the kitchen, chatting about training and missions and about how the rest of the defenders were doing.

“Oh right,” he yelled at the reminder, grabbing at his hair. _Idiot._“Any idea where he is now?”

"Nope, sorry."

He quickly started making his way towards the penthouse where he knew his mentor was probably starting on dinner, of course.

“Tony, I really regret what happened.” Peter tensed at the name of his mentor spoken in the Captain’s voice. He slowed down, stopping close to the room the sound was coming from. “I’m not proud of my actions or lying to you. It turns out I have a string of really bad decisions behind me.”

“You’re telling me,” Tony’s voice replied, and Peter approached the door slowly, unsure of whether it was fair to eavesdrop or not. He didn’t like that Tony was alone with Rogers though and let that win over his conscience. “Look, Rogers, I accept your apology. You were there for Thanos in the end and that’s all I could have asked for. But I can’t forgive you. I just can’t trust you anymore. Can’t call you my friend.”

Peter recognised the door as the one leading to the common room used by the rogues. There was no rule on them not being allowed in the one with the others, but Peter assumed the rogues we’re kind enough – or at least guilty enough – to lend them their peace.

“Tony-“

“Please don’t.” Peter heard the pained tone in his voice as he sighed out the words, it made his stomach twist uncomfortably

“_Stark,_” Steve corrected, regret clear in his voice. Peter didn’t want to think about how bad Siberia must have been for Mr. Stark to stay angry at his ex-teammate. He had never known the engineer to hold a grudge, not really. People betrayed him and he blamed himself, never the other person. “I’ve been going to the counselling sessions, even after the evaluation was complete, and it’s really helping me. It made me realise I was wrong.”

“And I’m happy for you, Rogers, I am. But that doesn’t mean I have to forgive you. I can’t do that to myself. Not anymore.”

“Don’t you want to go back to the way things were, before,” Steve asked, desperation clear in his voice.

“Not really, no.”

“How can you say that? We worked well together!”

“Rogers, I don’t have the time to explain to you all the ways you screwed me over during the years we’ve known each other. I have to go,” Peter jumped up to the high ceilings, but sighed in relief when the engineer left the room through a different door than the one he was stood at – or now, was hanging in front of.

“He has a right to be angry, Steve,” Peter frowned at the sound of another voice. He hadn’t realised someone else was in the room with them. He inched closer, crawling towards the half open door.

“I _know _that, Sam!”

“Then why are you upset?” The falcon asked, voice tight with contained annoyance.

“I just… I get that he wants his space, but it’s been almost three years! I know we wronged him, but I don’t get why he insists on painting our years as a team in such bad lighting. Why he doesn’t want to go back.”

“Steve, I know I’ve spoken badly about Stark before, but we’ve obviously been unfair towards him. Look what he’s accomplished here!” Peter felt pride for his mentor and his team. He knew the rogues hadn’t treated him fairly. Had heard the surprise in his voice every time one of the New Avengers thanked or praised him.

“I know.” He heard the defeat in the captain’s voice as he sighed. “I just wish he could find it within himself to forgive me. I couldn’t have known it would all turn out like this.”

“That’s up to him. He was clearly way more hurt about the accords than we had anticipated.” Peter flinched at the realisation that Mr. Wilson probably didn’t know about what had happened in Siberia either and hadn’t been aware of the physical harm done to the billionaire. “Never mind the fact that Rhodes is now paralysed.”

Peter could hear the soldier be quiet for a long time, and anger coursed through Peter. How dare he not confess his actions to the others of his so-called team. No wonder aunt Nat had stuck by him that first week. That Mr. Barton and Mr. Wilson still defended their opposition towards the accords and their choice to remain loyal to the propaganda that is Captain America.

He had heard enough. He crawled further over the ceiling towards the elevator, itching to check up on his mentor and give him a massive hug.

He could still barely believe they had reached that point, still clearly remembering that awkward hug in the back of Happy’s car. Now, he noticed the billionaire wanting to keep his two adopted kids as close as possible. It had started after Thanos, when Tony had surprised Peter by pulling him into his arms as soon as he saw the teen returned to him. The same gesture was bestowed upon Harley as soon as he had made it back to the compound. 

The memories immediately lifted his spirits. He needed some Tony time right about now.

\---

The training room was quiet as Stephen faced Wanda and studied her features. Her hair was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail, making it easy to check for harsh lines. Stephen found none, her entire face slack as she worked on the meditation exercises Stephen had given her. Her training robes in her signature red were a stark contrast to the baby blues he had gotten used to training Elsa.

Letting Elsa choose her own colors had been an attempt to help her feel at ease. Now, with the multiple students he was training, it helped distinguish them, reminding Stephen that they had their own unique sense of magic.

“Okay,” Stephen started from where he sat cross legged on the floor, watching as Wanda slowly blinked her eyes open. “Let’s talk about your powers.”

Her face hardened as her attention fully focusses on the sorcerer. Stephen continued, keeping his face neutral as he studied her reaction. “I heard they came from one of the infinity stones, but could you explain to me _how _you obtained them?”

When Wanda bit her lip and glanced away from him, he felt the need to add; “Don’t worry, I know about HYDRA, we don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to. It would, however, be useful to know how your powers came to be. Was it due to radiation from proximity to the scepter? Did they do specific experiments on you? And if so, was it through altering your DNA purposefully or did you gain the mutation as a side effect of something different? Knowing the mechanics can give me a better insight in how your powers function and what their relationship is to you.”

Wanda continued gazing into the distance, avoiding his stare as she started explaining what she knew. “I don’t know the science,” she sighed in defeat, eyes dark as she remembered past mistakes, “me and Pietro… I think they took his blood and then reinserted it. I only remember them injecting something into me. I don’t remember much as I was ill for a few weeks, but then I guess whatever it was stabilized.”

Stephen hummed at the new information, theories and hypothesis’ and explanations coursing through his head. “What can you tell me about the differences in skills between you and your brother?”

“With Pietro it just seemed like a mutation, like all of a sudden he could run extremely fast. He barely noticed it as something he wasn’t born with. My magic is more like…” Her eyes glazed over, grinding her teeth as she tried to focus her thoughts. Stephen didn’t miss the sadness in her eyes, the pain still brought on by the loss of a sibling. Stephen knew it well from when he was younger. It would never fully go away.

“Sometimes it feels overwhelming,” she continued, glancing back at Stephen with a guilty expression. Stephen frowned.

“It’s not shameful to not be able to have full control of your powers.” He watched as she clenched her jaw.

“It’s just that everyone expects me to,” she admitted, “When I was still with HYDRA, they made me practice on people. It… didn’t end well. And now with the Avengers… they need me to help them. My skill is _useful_, but they’re also too afraid of my powers to let me use them outside of the field. It’s not about the mind control. I don’t want to use it, but whenever I don’t for a long time, it flows out of me eventually.”

“When you get angry? Or upset?”

Wanda nodded at the question, eyes starting to water as she looked towards him. “It’s horrible,” she whispered, voice harsh, Sokovian accent taking over more heavily, “all people’s fear, and anger, and repulsion gets projected back to me. I-… I don’t want people to be afraid of me. And with some people, … some people’s minds are-”

Stephen watched as the girl shuddered, distant look in her eyes. His mind shifted towards Tony, and Stephen thought he understood. Over time, people learn how to deal with their darkest memories and emotions. They know their own minds and what thoughts to stay away from. Being forced into an unfamiliar mind must be disorienting in the least, traumatizing in the cruelest of cases. He had felt the maliciousness coming from Wanda’s magic. He had – ignorantly – assumed that the magic protected its host, but perhaps the magic was more selfish than that. More destructive.

“Can you feel a difference between a voluntary and involuntary mind breach,” Stephen continued to ask.

“When I accessed the others’ minds,” Wanda replied, avoiding eye contact once again, “during the Ultron attack, I was in control. Like slowly exploring a building. But whenever it’s involuntary, there is more backlash. Like being sucked in through the keyhole. It hasn’t happened since you took my mind controlling powers away from me, but before that I was forced into people’s minds about once a month.”

“When I was still at the compound and spending most of my time with Vision,” her voice broke at the mention of her lost love and Stephen looked down in shame. He knew that if he hadn’t given up the time stone, everyone would be lost, yet it had still cost them the android. “It wasn’t so bad. I could enter Vision’s mind easily without violating his privacy thanks to the mindstone. It was like a bottomless pit. Like avoiding Vision’s personal thoughts and memories was like avoiding a single trashcan in the middle of an open field.”

“And when you were around the Rogues,” he asked softly, the cloak hovered over by the big glass windows. It seemed to want to edge closer to comfort the girl. It made Stephen smile slightly, knowing she was winning the piece of fabric over.

To Stephen’s surprise, Wanda smiled as she continued explaining, “I hung out with Bucky a lot,” she shrugged, “he had learned some sort of mind blocking trick. I think some Wakandan sorcerer protected him so he could be more at ease. It would bounce right off him and reflect on my own mind. It still sucked for me, but at least it wasn’t hurting anyone else.”

Stephen nodded at that. It fit with what he’d already learned from Tony; it was one of the reason Tony was now so comfortable with the winter soldier being here. “If you’d allow me, I’d like to investigate your mind more. I think for your own sake, it’s better if we don’t return your powers to you. You’re already very powerful with your telekinesis alone.”

Wanda nodded at that; clear relief visible on her face. She started to relax more, tension easing from her shoulders.

“I would like to sweep your mind for possible remnants. If my suspicion is correct, and your magic is set on growth and survival, there is a chance it might linger in an occult form, until a time when it feels like it has enough resources – possibly this could mean negative emotions from you or others – to fully re-emerge.” Stephen explained. He didn’t want to breach her mind until he had full permission, so he made her give a verbal okay instead of just a nod of her head.

He steadied himself, still sitting cross-legged on the floor, letting the cloak attach to his shoulder as a tether as he opened his mind and reached out toward the soul in front of him.

Breaching into Wanda’s mind wasn’t as easy as it should have been. He had never liked mind magic, so he wasn’t practiced and definitely didn’t have any expertise on the matter, but he felt a heavy resistance as he let himself fall into the red aura of the little witch. It was like peeling away the outer skin of a piece of fruit, trying to get under the red haze that covered her inner thoughts and memories. He shied away from her personal core, instead focusing on where the heavy red mist was thickest.

It didn’t take long for him to find her telekinesis powers, nestled deep within her subconscious. From there on out he could follow the axons to a second, smaller shape of red. It seemed as if the two were sustaining each other, both tied to the witch’s mind. As he tried to approach the magic though, it lashed out, trying to protect itself from the invading sorcerer. He had expected this to happen, but what he hadn’t expected was that it would use memories to overwhelm him.

He had guessed the magic would attack his own consciousness, which is why he had wards up to keep the magic from accessing his own memories.

Instead, he saw visions of the world ending, a fictitious version of the Thanos attack, with everyone lying at Tony’s feet as Captain America told him he failed. He saw visions of empty space and space not so empty, instead filled with an army of aliens, a mothership dark and foreboding. Next, he saw Clint, sitting in a dark chamber, beaten and tortured, both ears bleeding heavily, he saw a little boy in a butcher shop, being beaten by an older man, the scent of alcohol wafting into the air. He saw a plane going down into the ocean, a flash and everyone familiar gone. He saw snow covered ground, a man covered in red and gold, blue light shining up at him as he brought down a shield, he saw Bucky being turned to dust, felt the anger and failure coursing through him.

Stephen managed to form the spell and expel the magic, before he gasped as he managed to pull himself back into his own body, eyes unfocused as he tried to get his mind in order. The cloak wrapped around him protectively, keeping him from tilting over.

“Dr. Strange,” Wanda’s worried voice piped up, reaching out a hand to steady him, “I’m so sorry.”

He was pulled back into the moment, steadying his breath as he sorted through all the emotions coursing through him to find which ones were his own. “What was that,” he demanded, making Wanda flinch.

“I think that was most of what I saw whenever I involuntarily entered someone’s mind.”

“No, the memory. With the shield.” Stephen watched as Wanda frowned.

“It was Siberia,” Wanda explained, waiting for Stephen’s features to twist in recognition. Instead, he was sure his face was one of pure horror. “I assumed you knew.”

“What happened,” he urged for her to explain. He had only seen a fragment, but pure hatred was starting to burn through his veins like gasoline.

“I didn’t know until I accidentally backlashed onto Steve three months into our exile,” she swallowed, trying to keep her own disgust out of her tone. “Steve never told us and whenever one of us asked he avoided the question. I still don’t know why it happened, but I could see Steve fighting Mr. Stark. Bucky was already lying on the ground without his metal arm, I’m assuming Mr. Stark’s doing, because I heard Mr. Stark say Bucky had killed his mother.”

Wanda bit down her own tears as Stephen tried to take it all in. He had known Siberia was bad. Tony’s reaction to Steve said more than a thousand words. Why he still assumed it had just stayed to a few choice words and heartless blows, he didn’t understand. He had never dared to ask, only could assume from Pepper and Rhodey’s hatred towards the rogues. This was way worse than he could have ever imagined though, as he had been under the impression Steve and Tony had been friends at the time.

There were few things Stephen truly hated, but one of them was unauthenticity. If you are an asshole, fine, but don’t hide it behind pretty words and false promises. He had already disliked the soldier for his fake bravado and stupidity concerning the accords, but this was a whole new level of delusion.

He thought about the man at the compound right now, sitting through meeting after meeting, working his ass off to get the rogues back into the team. Setting his own misgivings aside to accommodate a greater goal.

And he thought about what he’d seen. The fear in Tony’s face as determination coursed through the soldier’s veins, bringing down a shield full force on an already weak sternum. How both Rogers and Barnes were clearly mostly unharmed, yet Tony was beaten to near death, suit destroyed. How the soldier planned on leaving him there, hurt and in pain and stranded.

Anger like he hadn’t felt in a long time coursed through him, but he tried to suppress it. There must have been a reason Tony hadn’t told the world about the horrors committed by Captain America, a reason for letting him back into his home. He could guess to that reason. If he knew Tony – and at this point he was fairly certain he could say he did – Tony knew their mission was more important than any one person, than any one fight. No matter how harsh the break. More than anything, Tony understood that it _wasn’t_ _about him._

Stephen could admire him for that, could love him for it.

And as another thing became clear to him, he could let hope blossom a little bit more; why Pepper had broken up with him all those years ago. It took a lot to love someone who was so fully committed to put the world over all else. Over their own happiness, their own lives.

Stephen could fall a little bit more in love knowing that Tony could understand his own plight.

Right now, though, he was still rightfully pissed on Tony’s behalf. He didn’t know who he was angriest at. Was it directed at Captain America, for so easily choosing someone else over Tony? For not having more faith in the man he claimed to have as a friend? Was he angry at the world, for still worshipping a man so clearly off the beaten path? Or was it an irrational anger, born out of disappointment in himself for not being there for Tony in his hour of need?

“Thank you for telling me,” he gritted out, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. He could see understanding in Wanda’s eyes, nodding her head at him as she got up.

“I’ll practice some more meditation by next lesson. Maybe I can portal over to the sanctum and we can train there,” she asked. He just hummed in agreement as he stood up himself. He shook her hand goodbye, before turning to create a portal back to the compound.

He had to get his head straight, he had to get away from the compound for a bit, before he went over and threw Steve into a dark dimension right then and there. 

\----

Stephen returned to the compound the next day . After five hours of meditation, a night of fighting off eldritch abominations in Shanghai and an early morning (or late afternoon depending on the timezone) of training with Wong in Kamar Taj, he had worked off all his anger and frustration. With a clear head, he decided to let Tony take the lead on figuring out what he wanted. After all, Stephen was in no way involved with the civil war, and therefore had no right to an opinion or anger towards a man he barely knew.

That didn’t mean though, that he had to like the ‘soldier’. If he was even more petty to the man than before, that was in his own right. He didn’t even get that far though, as someone seemed to have pissed off the super soldier before he had even arrived.

He walked into the common area to find Pepper typing on a laptop at the kitchen island.

“Good morning,” she greeted him with a smile, before quickly going back to work. He returned the sentiment, before conjuring up a cup of tea and sitting down in the couch with a book on magical infections.

Natasha came into the room next. She was dressed casually in jeans and a top Stephen had never seen before, and there were smudges under her eyes that indicated she had used a _lot _of concealer that morning. He raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

“Morning, Pepper,” she greeted the other redhead with a short kiss on the cheek, “it’s been a while. Company still running smoothly?”

Pepper looked at Natasha in amusement, before ignoring the question, “How’s Maria?”

“Perfectly fine.”

Stephen returned his attention back to his book as the two women started talking but could feel Natasha’s eyes on him at regular intervals.

He ignored her, figuring she was probably surprised to see him at the compound as his lesson with Nico and Elsa didn’t start for another half hour.

When an exasperated looking Captain America walked into the room, Stephen had to remind himself of the promise he had made.

“Nat,” Steve addressed the agent, who _glared _at the super soldier, making Stephen raise his eyebrow in surprise at the redhead, “have you seen my shield?”

“No,” she answered curtly, annoyance seeping through her voice at her and Pepper’s conversation being interrupted for something so trivial. Pepper herself was ignoring the America man, and Stephen could see she was biting her tongue from across the room.

Steve – apparently not as daft as he looked – got the cue and left, leaving the two women to roll their eyes and continue their conversation.

Stephen frowned, but let it go, continuing on with his book.

When he made his way down to the training room, walking past the labs – obviously not to see if Tony was around – he heard voices coming from a lab that, as far as Stephen knew, was usually empty. Curious, he opened the door and looked inside.

He pushed the door open fully and leaned against the arch of the doorway at what he saw. Harley and Peter were inside, arguing about what the best way to melt a vibranium shield would be. The shield in question was being held by Harley, who’d sporadically toss a different kind of acid over it. 

Stephen cleared his throat, gaining the attention of both boys. Peter looked at him with wide eyes, jumped up to the ceiling and crawled his way out of the room, all the while assuring Stephen he had nothing to do with whatever this was, voice three octaves higher than usual as he made his exit.

Stephen focused his attention on the older boy, eyebrow cocked as he stared the teen down. The teen in question just shrugged and threw the shield on top of a Bunsen burner. The flame sputtered and hugged the shield, barely even touching it.

“Damn it,” Harley muttered as Stephen moved forward to stand closer to the boy.

“Harley,” he asked, “what are you doing?”

“I thought it was obvious,” the teen replied, gaining an unimpressed look from the sorcerer. Harley rolled his eyes. “I’m getting revenge.”

Stephen furrowed his brow as he asked the next question, “for what exactly?”

Harley looked at Stephen as if he was stupid, “for what he did to Mr. Stark, obviously.”

“I didn’t know he told you about that.”

“He didn’t, clearly, or I would have done something about it sooner,” Harley scoffed, “I heard you and the witch talk yesterday.”

Stephen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Harley, you weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“You shouldn’t hold deep conversations in the training room then. Me and aunt Nat were in the roster.”

He got him there, though he could have never expected the conversation to take such a turn. He moved closer, softly pushing Harley down into a chair. He sat down opposite the teen.

“I know what Wanda revealed yesterday was shocking,” he started, noticing the scowl forming on the teen’s face, “it was a surprise to me too and trust me, I’m very angry at the captain as well.”

“But you’re just going to forgive him?” Harley asked incredulously, clearly picking up on the tone of the conversation. He crossed his arms and pouted, “he’s not even a real captain.”

“I’m – I’m _not,” _Stephen assured him even as the boy was about to protest his claim, “Look, Mr. Stark clearly didn’t want you to know. And he doesn’t want Captain America out of the Avengers. Look at all the work he has done to get the Rogues back; doesn’t his will count for anything?”

Harley glanced down at his lap, anger still clearly edged into his features.

“I will let you continue pranking Rogers if it makes you feel better.” When that caused Harley to look up to him in delighted surprise, he continued; “As long as it doesn’t put you or Peter in harm’s way or interferes with the team.”

Harley grinned at the sorcerer; mischief clear in his features.

“But you _do _have to give the shield back eventually. If it’s destroyed it will probably reflect badly on Tony.”

Understanding and guilt flashed in Harley’s features, and he nodded in agreement. “Thanks, Dr. Strange.”

Stephen smiled at the kid, unable to stop himself from ruffling the boy’s hair. The cloak shifted off his shoulders, instead focusing his attention on Harley as it wrapped itself around the teen. Harley let out a surprised yelp, but welcomed the hug of the cloak, nonetheless.

When the captain found his shield the next day, taped to the highest ceiling of the entrance hall, no one would be able to explain how it got there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot
> 
> Next chapter: life at the compound with more Tony, I promise


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to combine two short chapters into one longer one, so the fic will be ten chapters in total instead of eleven. 
> 
> This chapter: 
> 
> *Stephen blushes* *Tony smiles* *Stephen blushes* *Tony smiles* 
> 
> *Stephen blushes* *Tony looses his apatite*

They had fallen into a routine of sorts. Harley or Peter would drag him out of the basement or office, complaining they were hungry, and they’d have dinner together. It did wonders for his sanity; having family dinners with Harley and Pete, meant he had to cook a lot more. You can hardly raise two growing teens on take-out food alone.

Tony actually did enjoy cooking. On the rare occasions that his mother had felt like cooking, Tony had joined her in the kitchen. Often these moments were a result of his father leaving town for business. It was one of the few times his mother took time to do something mundane and homely, and Tony always welcomed the smell of her homemade meals. 

The boys had insisted on eating together in the evenings, and it had lifted his spirits immensely. It was something to look forward to everyday and a reason to stop working once six pm rolled around. Combined with family breakfast though, it also meant Tony was getting at least two decent meals a day.

  
Tony assumed that had been their plan all along. He wasn’t complaining.

Family breakfast was for everyone, family dinner was for the Stark household alone.

After dinner, they would hang out until he sent the boys to bed and – having nothing better to do after that – he’d try falling asleep himself. Usually it actually worked.

Tonight however, not so much.

Tony sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed as he rubbed his hands over his face. He asked Friday for the time, not surprised in the least that it was already almost three am.

Deciding he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, he stood up and made his way through the darkness and into the living room. The penthouse was quiet, Peter and Harley probably sound asleep, and the huge windows looking out over the fields in front of the compound let in an earie strip of moonlight.

Tony’s penthouse was located at the top of the East Wing. Besides the lab, it was his favourite place in the compound. It hadn’t been a conscious decision to model the penthouse after Malibu, but he didn’t regret it.

Yet, standing in the living room in the quiet, it almost felt like he was alone again, living in an empty mansion in the middle of nowhere.

He shook the nasty feeling off of him and walked over towards the front door, deciding he’d rather be productive than sit around and mope. He halted in front of the exit of the East Wing. He had successfully avoided Rogers by either hiding in the restricted areas or sticking to Rhodey’s team during training but making his way down to the lab meant possible exposure.

He had been caught by him once in a moment of weakness, when he’d spend the day in so many different SI meetings that he’d forgotten the rogues existed. It hadn’t been too terrible, and his anxiety meds had held up, but he didn’t look forward to repeating the experience.

“Friday, is everyone in their bedrooms?”

“No, Boss, Mr. Rogers is in the training room with Mr. Barnes and Dr. Strange is in your lab.”

The training room was luckily on the opposite side of the building, and Tony sighed in relief as he stepped out into the hallway and started making his way downstairs. It took him a minute to realise Friday had mentioned another person as well.

“Dr. Strange? What is he doing?” Tony frowned up at the ceiling.

“He seems to be reading, Boss.”

That didn’t lift Tony’s confusion. Stephen still hadn’t taken him up on his offer of becoming an Avenger and stubbornly remained a resident at the Sanctum. Tony had made sure he knew he was welcome whenever, but that didn’t explain why he was in the lab and not one of the lounges. Surely that would be more comfortable.

He found that he didn’t mind though. His lab was his sacred place. The place where he hid whenever he was dealing with something, where he worked away his anxiety and spent time with his kids. He had a list with people who he’d kill if they ever were to breach that space. He found that Stephen Strange wasn’t on it.

He reached the lab in question, and the door opened up for him. Strange didn’t seem to notice his arrival, engrossed in the book in front of him. Tony stepped forward carefully and he couldn’t stop a grin from spreading over his cheeks.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Tony spoke up, resting his hands on the red couch on which Stephen was sat, back leaning against one of the armrests and legs spread out in front of him. A couch that hadn’t been there earlier in the day.

Stephen to his credit, didn’t jump at Tony’s words. Instead, he elegantly placed a bookmark in between the pages and closed the book to look up at the engineer. Tony did notice a small tint of red on his cheekbones.

“I’m sorry for intruding your space.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Tony replied with a wave of his hand, walking around the couch and sitting down in the remaining spot, Stephen’s feet gracing his thigh. “I’m actually serious; can’t believe I haven’t thought about placing a couch here.”

He sent him a smile, noting the small bags under the sorcerer’s eyes, and continued as the other man stayed quiet. He seemed to be watching for something in Tony’s expression. Tony wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “Can’t sleep either?”

The sorcerer snapped up out of his daze. “Not really. I usually read and study at night, but the sanctum is too quiet.”

Tony hummed sympathetically, before a mischievous smile graced his lips. “You know, if you lived here –“

“No, Stark,” Stephen sighed, rolling his eyes. Tony swore he could see a smile itching at his lips though.

“Come on! We can have sleepovers,” Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Stephen, who seemed to be fighting off another eyeroll.

“Sleepovers don’t have a prerequisite that you live together, that’s kind of the point.” It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes, glancing around the quiet lab. DUM-E and U were stood in the corner, silent as they charged themselves for the following day. 

Stephen followed Tony’s hand as it dropped to grab his ankle, the engineer seemed unaware he was doing it, instead staring ahead in thought.

“I know about what happened in Siberia,” Stephen blurted out, making Tony cringe into himself, squeezing the sorcerer’s ankle subconsciously. He didn’t dare look at the other man. It wasn’t a secret per se, but he hadn’t exactly planned on anyone finding out. It was between him and Steve and he didn’t particularly feel like talking about it. The less people knew, the easier it would be to pretend it didn’t happen at all.

“Oh yeah?” was all he managed. Through the corners of his eyes, he could see the other man frown.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about what Steve did? How bad it truly was?”

“The people who needed to know at the time, do,” he replied, fully aware of the defences he was putting up. He looked at the sorcerer. There was sadness in his eyes as he stared back at Tony, immediately making his walls crumble down. “Look, it was bad, but we both made mistakes. I’m not proud of how I reacted either.”

“Stark, he could have killed you. You weren’t even close to using the full potential of your suit; he was ready to kill a teammate, you weren’t.” Tony flinched at the words, remembering the flash of vibranium from his nightmares.

“I do know that, trust me.” It had taken some time and a lot of convincing from Pepper and Rhodey, but he knew now. Realised the difference and consequences of Steve’s actions. Even if he wanted to forgive the man, he would never be able to trust like that again. Never able to consider him a friend.

Being around him the last few months had been difficult. Always having to be on edge, eyes involuntarily watching his movements from across the room, heart racing when he sees the man approach him. Nat or Rhodey always whisked him away in time, using the excuse of an important meeting or the boys asking for him. After the first two weeks, the soldier seemed to have gotten the hint.

“Should I ask how you know,” he asked the sorcerer, trying to lead the conversation away from Rogers. Glancing down, he saw the position his hand was in. It was strangely (ha) soothing. He started absentmindedly drawing pattern with his fingers on the man’s socks, finding comfort in the motions.

“Wanda accidentally saw it in Rogers’ memories,” Stephen replied, eyes fixed on Tony’s hands as if mesmerised. He frowned when Tony stopped his administrations, but relaxed when the engineer continued a second later.

“Do I need to feel sorry for him now?”

“Never,” the sorcerer scoffed.

“The power wasn’t hers; it was almost parasitic.” Stephen told the billionaire. “With the risk of sounding like Rogers; it wasn’t her fault.”

Tony glanced at him in amusement, “You could never sound like Rogers.”

“Why,” Stephen asked in kind, “Am I not arrogant enough? Not stubborn enough? Tell me, _darling_, I can change.”

“Oh, you’re plenty arrogant and stubborn, trust me.” Tony replied, ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks. He knew the sorcerer was teasing, yet he couldn’t stop his body from reacting to his words.

They continued talking for a while, topics staying away from Rogers or any of the rogues. Tony barely remembered sporadically glancing at Stephen, a fond smile on his lips as he took in the sleepy sorcerer, before he dozed off into a dreamless sleep. 

\---

“Boss, it is almost 6:45 am,” Friday’s voice echoed around the room.

Tony woke up with a groan, cracking his neck as he glanced around the waking lab. It appeared he had fallen asleep while talking to Stephen and a look to his left confirmed that he hadn’t been the only one. The sorcerer was slowly blinking awake. He lay on his side, facing the back of the couch with his hair falling over his forehead. He looked absolutely adorable and Tony had to once again fight off a grin in the presence of the sorcerer.

He hadn’t smiled like this in years, he was sure. There was something about him that made his insides clench up and giddiness course through his veins. It was absolutely addictive.

“Rise in shine, Doc, time for breakfast. Peter and Harley will murder me if I don’t see them off to school.” Tony pushed Stephen’s legs as he got up, stretching his arms over his head as he yawned. Stephen huffed as he turned around to get up himself, soft smile on his face.

He was cute with his bedhead and tired eyes. Tony was starting to think he was just cute all the time.

“I should probably go,” Stephen said, making Tony frown as he looked over at him.

“Why,” Tony asked, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually pouting, though he tried not to. “You’re supposed to meet the witches for training soon, anyway. Might as well just come up.”

“I will only be a second,” Stephen assured Tony, “I’m just going to take a quick shower and make sure I’m presentable.”

Tony smirked at that, deciding against a joke about joining him, already missing morning Stephen. “Fine, but if you’re not at the table in twenty minutes I’m finding a way to keep you out of the lab.”

“See you then,” Stephen smiled, moving his hands to create a portal and stepping through.

\-------

“Barnes,” Tony smiled, stopping in his tracks as he found the Winter Soldier waiting for him, “how are you liking the compound so far? I’m sorry I haven’t properly welcomed you yet.”

He was already running late, returning from his penthouse freshly showered and dressed to the nines.

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Bucky smiled politely, wringing his hands together. “Steve can be a bit… much.”

Tony let out a snort – understatement of the year – making Bucky smile sheepishly. Friday showed him the time on his glasses and Tony huffed at his AI’s hint. “Can you walk with me, Barnes, I’m running late for something.”

“Of course,” Bucky replied, starting to follow him through the halls.

“I actually just wanted to apologise in person and thank you again, for helping out with … you know.” Barnes indicated his head, waving his right hand around his ear.

“As I have said before, it was no problem. I have to say I’m really impressed by the progress you’ve made. I’d also like to note that I appreciate you reaching out and trying to make amends.” Tony stopped abruptly, turning towards the super soldier and extending his hand with a smile. Barnes took it gratefully and shook his hand. It really had been a hard couple of years, but with every day Tony found the universe righting itself a little more.

He glanced at the time again and cursed under his breath. “I really have to go now, or my kids will kill me.”

“Kids?” Barnes frowned in surprise.

“Yeah,” Tony hesitated and bit his lip, glancing around the hall before turning back to Bucky with a pained smile. “Any idea where Rogers is?”

“He’s sleeping,” Barnes assured him. “Won’t bother you for another three hours, I’m sure.”

Tony discreetly confirmed with Friday that Rogers was indeed in his bedroom and sent Bucky a genuine smile. “Want to join us for breakfast?”

\--

They were only a few minutes late, his eyes immediately finding Stephen already sat next to Peter and Harley. The sorcerer raised his eyebrow with a teasing smile as his eyes met Tony’s, pointing at his watch. Tony huffed, sent him an eyeroll, and turned back to Barnes, but not before he noticed Stephen’s eyes darkening as he noticed the Winter Soldier.

“Barnes, meet the Junior Avengers,” he motioned towards the large table, some kids greeted them, while others continued gazing into their cereal bowls, unaware of the world around them. Wanda sent Bucky an excited smile and wave from where she was talking to Elsa and Nico, the only kids not in high school that were already awake as Stephen insisted on morning practices. “They’re the Avengers in training mentioned in the briefing. At least some of them.”

He saw Peter’s eyes widen in excitement as he noticed the winter soldier standing next to his mentor. Barnes was looking around at the teens, he’d sent them back pleasant smiles and waves, but Tony could feel the discomfort radiating off of him.

He nudged him forward.

“These, however,” Tony explained as he led him to sit with Stephen, Harley and Peter, ruffling the boys’ hair as he sat down next to them, “are special. I’m legally stuck with these two.”

“You still have the receipts if you hate us so much, old man.”

Tony sent Harley a wink as Peter immediately started babbling with Bucky.

“Hi, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir,” Peter started, grinning from ear to ear, “I don’t know if you remember me but – “

Bucky sent a horrified look at Tony, before turning back towards Peter. “_You’re _Spiderman? I thought you sounded young but… this is…,_” _he trailed off, cheeks red in embarrassment, “I’m sorry for trying to punch you.”

“Oh no worries!” Peter assured him, “I almost had you though!”

Bucky chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you did. You’re quite nifty.”

If possible, Peter perked up even more, accidentally knocking over his cereal bowl.

“So what about you,” Bucky asked Harley, as Peter tried to discreetly mop up the mess he had made, “you a superhero too?”

Harley looked wearily at the soldier, but, after a reassuring glance from Tony, he stuck out his chin; “I’m training to be the next Iron Man!”

Bucky sent Tony a curious look, before continuing the conversation with the teens. Tony’s attention drifted towards the sorcerer though, smile softening as he found the doctor’s gaze already on him. He was wearing his normal training garbs again, as usual hugging his torso neatly. Tony had quickly become a fan.

“You were late,” the sorcerer commented, an amused glint in his eyes.

“I came upon a stray,” Tony teased back, nudging his head towards Bucky,

“Are you okay with him?” Stephen studied Tony, no doubt looking for any trace of anxiety or discomfort coming from the engineer. Tony noticed that Stephen glanced at Harley every so often, and found the teen subtly listening along. He didn’t mind. The teens knew about his fallout with the Captain – Peter had been there – and about Bucky’s involvement. Siberia was off-limits though. He guessed the little mechanic was just curious. Harley had always been a little overprotective after all. Not that it didn’t go both ways.

“When he woke up and was told my BARF technology had been a huge part of his treatment, he sent me an email,” Tony explained, noting that Bucky was still fully engaged in his conversation with Peter, who, apparently, was trying to catch the soldier up with pop culture, starting with Star Wars. “His apology was way more sincere than Steve’s letter, even though he had less to apologise for in the first place. We kept in contact since then. He’s actually a pretty decent guy, as you can see,” he glanced back over towards Barnes. Harley looked more relaxed now, but still remained on the background as he watched the other teens wake up more and engage the soldier as well. Molly especially seemed to be asking him all about his super strength. Tony heard her asking where he chose to take his naps after missions. “He seems like he also needs a break from Rogers to be honest.”

“Have I said recently that I really admire you?” Stephen’s words came as a surprise to Tony, raising an eyebrow at the sorcerer. The gentle tone he had said them with ringing through his veins.

“Oh?” was the only response Tony could think of, but he accompanied them with a teasing smile as he raised his cup of coffee to his lips, keeping eye contact with his doctor. Stephen’s cheekbones were dusted pink again. He would really like to see that more on the sorcerer.

Stephen hummed as he leaned back in his chair, soft smile still trained on Tony. “Not many people would be so forgiving as you. You, Mr. Stark, are a very kind man.”

Tony honestly didn’t know what to say. Many people had called him generous, compassionate, indulgent, merciful or – whenever he did something especially noteworthy – caring, but he had never been described as simply kind.

The media had always been quick to highlight his mistakes and, even when praising him, it only went as far as his willingness to use his money for good. The rogues never even thanked him, expecting his good deeds as something he owed them.

His real family and friends, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and now also Nat, hadn’t used words at all because they didn’t need to. Their relationship was built on trust and actions, knowing that words only meant so much.

But here Stephen was, after half a year of being acquaintances and a friendship of less than four months, using such a simple word with so much sincerity behind it.

Luckily, he was spared having to answer by Friday speaking up and telling the kids that Happy was waiting for them downstairs. He blinked as he looked away from Stephen, the intense look leaving the sorcerers eyes as he glanced at the teens.

“See you later, Mr. Stark,” Peter hugged Tony and he pressed a kiss to the teen’s temple, before pulling a grumbling Harley in and doing the same. If he held both of them a little longer than usual, they didn’t comment on it.

“Later, kids, don’t get in too much trouble.” 

Once the kids were out of the door, he glanced back at Bucky, who was looking at him in amusement. “Interesting family you’ve got there, Stark.”

“That I do,” he replied sincerely, smile on his lips.

\---

The rogues had been back for 3 months before everyone was called out for a mission together. Tony had been in a meeting with Carol and Rhodey when the call came in about an attack happening in Boston. Apparently, some bastards had decided to unionise and combine all their resources to create a big organised take-over. Why Boston? Only god knew. Tony figured ‘using all weapons at once’ was as far as their intellect went.

According to the secret service, there had been at least sixty hostiles spotted all around the city, armed with both old Stark Weapons and alien tech.

“Alright, we could just send in my team,” Rhodey mused, looking at the hologram showing the city map. Drones had been sent ahead and were already scanning the area, scoping for weapons and helping with evacuation. “I’m not sure I trust the Rogues on this.”

“With just your team it will probably take a lot longer to subdue everyone and more people will get hurt,” Carol cut in.

“I can put some of the Juniors on evacuation and perimeter,” Tony suggested. He knew it would probably make their day, but he was always hesitant to put them in the field. “Peter has dealt with the alien weapons before and it’s personal, so he’ll kill me if I make him stay home.”

Rhodey gave Tony an amused look and he winked at his oldest friend. He wasn’t looking forward to working together with the rogues again. Correction, he wasn’t looking forward to working with Steve again. Barton had warmed up to him and even Sam had thanked him for working on the pardon, but he still stayed away from Rogers as much as possible.

“Who do you suggest,” Carol asked him, already drawing up strategies.

“I think Karolina and Harley could be good for evacuation. They can help fly people out if needed and they would be able to move around the fastest to protect the set perimeter.” Carol nodded along in agreement, adding their names to the city map as it moved around the city.

“I don’t necessarily trust Wanda in the field just yet,” Tony continued, “according to Stephen she’s improving, but it has only been a few months and it’s too much of a risk. If anything like Lagos happens again so soon after re-joining the avengers, the media will eat her alive.”

“What about Elsa,” Rhodey asked, pulling up the girl’s file. “When I last talked to her, she seemed to be doing a lot better. It would be great if she could form a physical barrier to keep the hostiles contained within the borders of the city.”

“I’ll ask Stephen. She’ll probably feel more at ease with him around and his tricks could be useful,” Tony concluded. Once he got the OK from Carol, he told Friday to send a message to the Avengers and the chosen Juniors to get ready and meet them by the quinjets.

He called on his suit, the individual pieces being sent up from the lab and attaching themselves to Tony as the three of them made their way downstairs to wait near the planes. He preferred to use his sturdier suit when going out on missions, reserving the Nanotech for emergencies. He didn’t want to walk around with the housing unit on at all times.

The first person to arrive was the good doctor himself, though Tony pondered on how fair that was, as he had Portals at his disposal.

“Hey, Cloak,” Tony greeted, giving the Cloak a fist-bump as he pointedly ignored the sorcerer, “I missed you.”

“If this is your secret plan to make me join the Avengers,” Stephen asked, eyebrow raised as he, in turn, ignored Tony’s game, “it’s not going to work.”

“Oh,” Tony replied with a smirk, “so you’re here to _not _help us safe Boston?”

Stephen’s lip twitched slightly, but his other features remained impassive. They were interrupted when the others arrived. He focussed on Peter and Harley as they came running over in their suits and was sure to go over the rules with them.

“No to playing the hero. No to initiating fights. Follow orders. And-“

“Fall back when you tell us to, yeah yeah,” Tony could feel Harley rolling his eyes under his faceplate and Tony narrowed his eyes at him.

“You make it hard for me to believe you, kid.” Harley held up his hands in surrender, before he promised to do as told. He looked over at Peter, who immediately did the same. He glanced over at Elsa next, who was talking to Stephen. She was wearing a long blue dress, apparently her magic could make her own superhero outfit, and her gloves were gone.

“Ready, Princess,” Tony glanced over, “Or is it about time I call you Queen?”

Elsa smiled at Tony and with a glance in Stephen’s direction, who nodded in encouragement, she moved her hand towards her hair, where a burst of magic formed a small tiara made of ice.

He held out a hand for a high-five and she gladly answered it.

“Alright,” Carol yelled, everyone immediately paying attention to their leader. Tony pointedly did not look at Rogers. “You stay in your respective teams. Colonel Rhodes’ group is on offence. Try to disarm as many hostiles as possible _without _collateral damage. If you can’t safely take them out, let them get past you. My team is second line: defence and evacuation. Your goal is to get as many people to safety as possible. Do _not _engage. If you think you can take out hostiles _safely_, ask for an okay from your team leader. That is _me._”

“Snow Queen, Mechanic, Spider-man and Messiah are on perimeter duty. You stay around the outskirts of the fight and only stop hostiles from getting away if it is safe. You will all be monitored by Iron Man. I’m sure you know the rules. Everyone ready?” Carol looked around to make sure everyone knew their duties. Each team got into their quinjet and got ready for take-off.

Tony made sure Peter promised to listen to Jessica and Hope while on the plane. He glanced at Stephen, who was about to portal ahead with Elsa to set up the perimeter and smiled before taking off along with the rest of the air team.

\----

It didn’t take long for Boston to get into view. He heard Harley’s awed exclaim when he noticed the perimeter Elsa was working on. A thin sheet of ice was starting to circle throughout the city, waving around buildings and monuments.

“Mechanic, Messiah, start flying people out of there.” Tony watched as Harley and Karolina flew ahead to do as told as Rhodey, Carol and he went and charged into the centre of the city, where the hostiles were most highly concentrated.

Tony had taken out about five hostiles by the time the quinjets arrived and he gladly let Jones, Cage, Wasp and Echo take over for him as he fell back to check up on the Juniors. Hawkeye was up high somewhere, arrows raining down on the hostiles.

“Alright, Juniors, chime off,” Tony spoke into the comms. Friday was showing him everyone’s location, clearly moving around and obediently sticking to the boundaries of the fight, but he felt better to hear it in person.

“Messiah, chiming off,” Karolina’s voice crackled through the Junior line, quickly followed by Harley and Peter.

Satisfied, he re-joined the fight, taking out two more people with his repulsors. Jones had just taken out another one and moved to help Natasha, who was strangling some poor guy with her thighs. Before Jones even reached the two guys about to shoot the Black Widow, Nat fell backwards off the guy’s shoulders, taking him down with her as she gracefully threw two Widow bites at her attackers and fell on her hands, slamming her legs – and the assailant – down on the ground.

Tony smirked as he heard Jones yell something about Nat teaching her as they both moved on to their next target. He took to the air and held an eye out for hostiles in hiding, every now and then pointing out civilians that needed to be evacuated to Carol’s team or blasting some guy with a weapon.

Scott requested help from the Wasp to get civilians out from underneath some rubble, and Rhodey switched her with Murdock, the daredevil quickly taking over the fight Hope had been engaged in.

He noticed flashes of light in the distance and focussed Friday on the scene to get a better visual. A smile was forced out of him at the sight. Strange was helping Peter with portals, the kid clearly enjoying himself as he had done on Titan. That teen could see the bright sight to any situation. He was also engaging Harley as well, and Tony had to remind himself to focus on the matter at hand.

Suddenly, though, one of the alien weapons in an opponents’ hands exploded with a huge roar, fire bursting out of it, combining and accumulating until it formed a huge dragon-like shape.

Stephen was in front of Tony in a flash, throwing up shields and trying to contain the beast as Tony’s head was still spinning in shock. This was new.

To the sorcerer it seemed business as usual and Tony shuddered to imagine what kind of things the sorcerer supreme usually fought off. No wonder the Avengers seemed beneath him. 

He forced his mind away from the creature? Tech? illusion? Instead, focussing on the sorcerer.

He knew, of course he knew, that the sorcerer was attractive. Subconsciously he had always known. Right now, though, he felt nothing but outright lust as he stared at the wizard. The elegant strength he had noticed before was used at full capacity, biceps straining with the force of his spells, redirecting and rebutting everything aimed at either Tony or himself. His face was twisted in concentrated fury, stern and harsh and beautiful.

The cloak added a mystical twist, a reminder of the authority and power of the man floating protectively in front of him.

He noticed a trail of sweat run down his temple, cheeks flushed at the strain the battle was putting on him. Images of Stephen like this in a different context flashed through him. Before they could escalate though, he knew to put a damper on them, returning his focus to the matter at hand.

He was kind of being useless with his attention on the sorcerer instead of on trying to help. Maybe Stephen joining the Avengers wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Stephen seemed to be handling the situation just fine though, so Tony moved back and let the wizard deal with the creature.

“Friday, how many more hostiles?”

“Everyone left is being taken care of, Boss, except for a small group of four who have taken people hostage in a library a few streets away. Captain Rogers seems to be heading in that direction now.”

Tony put on his comms to a private line with Captain Marvel. “Carol, does Rogers have permission to engage?”

“_Engage_,” Tony heard her ask and yelling could be heard in the background. Tony saw that she had switched their line to communal as she called out for Rogers.

“Captain America,” her voice came out firm and irritated, clearly busy with her own fight, “Fall back. You do _not _have permission to engage. I repeat; Fall back.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Rogers’ response came through, his own annoyance clearly audible. Not reassuring Tony at all. Frankly, he was surprised he’d even answered in the first place.

“Rogers, if you do not fall back you will be taken off the field.” But she was already too late or maybe Rogers just didn’t care, because Tony landed in front of the library right when Steve burst his way inside. He could hear the screams from the hostages as a fight between Rogers and the hostiles broke out and Tony quickly flew in after him.

Rogers seemed to be winning, yes, but the hostiles didn’t have weapons just because they thought they were cute accessories. Tony landed in between the hostiles and the hostages, blasting the energy gun out of one of the guys’ hands. Rogers managed to either take or dodge anything aimed at him, but Tony could see the structural integrity of the building starting to fail with every blast that hit the walls. He could hear the fearful screams of the people cowering behind him and looked around for a way for them to get out of the building, entrance blocked by the fight.

Friday quickly pulled up a blueprint of the building, but immediately the blueprint was pushed aside for a pop-up warning.

“One of the blasts seems to have hit an important support beam,” Friday chimed up, and showed him the schematics of the building.

Cursing the super soldier’s name, he flew up and put his weight underneath the beam. According to Friday, it was helping, but it was only a temporary fix.

“Anyone close to the library, I need back-up _now. _Civilians need to be evacuated before Rogers kills them all.”

“Really, Stark,” Roger’s yelled out as he punched one of the remaining guys unconscious. “I’m trying to _save _these people!”

“I’m not having this discussion with you now,” Tony bit back, still supporting the beam and praying no other parts of the building started to collapse. “I’ll have Captain Marvel chew you out once she hands you your probation papers.”

There was one guy left, but as Steve charged him, Tony saw him pull out a remote, hate clear in his eyes. Before Tony could yell at Rogers to stop, the guy had already pressed the button. He had just enough time to fly back towards the civilians, supporting the beam now being useless, and hope he’d be able to block as many of them as possible, when the bomb went off and rippled through the building. He saw a blur of red fabric and an orange glow before he was blasted to the side and everything went dark.

\----

He woke up slowly in an unfamiliar bed to the sound of a calm beeping. He’d been on a heart monitor more times than he’d like, his own heart rhythm almost as familiar as AC/DC’s discography. What was weird though, was that the hospital bed he was lying in, didn’t look out onto the Compound grounds. The walls were old and chipped, and he could vaguely make out a city skyline through a gap in the curtains. Groaning, he tried to sit up, taking inventory of the different aches coursing through him. His head seemed to be doing fine, though he could feel a sting in his cheek – probably some cuts or scrapes – and he could feel all his fingers and toes; always a bonus.

The door opened and a not-unattractive doctor walked in holding his chart. Tony squinted at her, trying to make out if he'd have to spend more than one day in bed.

“You’re awake,” she commented as she smiled and stepped closer to his bed, taking note of the monitors as she scribbled down his vitals.

“I’m doctor Palmer, do you remember what happened?”

“Hey, doc, nice to meet you,” he replied, ignoring her question; he was going to murder Rogers. “Am I your only patient?”

Dr. Palmer raised her eyebrow at him. It reminded him of another doctor he knew. “There were no casualties in Boston, if that’s what you’re asking. In fact, you were the only one injured in the explosion. Except for Captain America, but he has enhanced healing so…”

Tony let out a sigh of relief as he fell back onto the bed, before turning a suspicious look back at the doctor. “So, why am I here?”

“Oh, that.” Tony was surprised when Dr. Palmer burst out laughing. “I think Stephen either panicked or is just stubborn. He’s convinced I’m the only surgeon to be trusted.”

Tony frowned in confusion but couldn’t help a smile from forming at his lips, wincing as his cheek stung again. “So, doc, what’s the verdict?”

“Nothing major,” she assured him, “You had some internal bleeding and cuts from the blast, but it was an easy fix without any complications. There was no head trauma and heart rate is steady.”

Tony thanked her as she turned to leave. Once she opened the door though, two teens stumbled in.

“Da- Mr. Stark,” Peter yelled, running up to his bed and throwing his arms around the engineer. “You’re okay!”

“Of course, I am, Underoos.” He happily returned the hug, placing his hand in Peter’s messy curls. “Who do you take me for?”

Harley sat down on the other side of the bed and Tony carded his hand through his hair as well, Harley, for once, pushing into his hand like a cat. “How long have you guys been waiting, here?”

“About five hours,” Harley shrugged, but Tony could see the tension in his shoulders. “Dr. Strange let aunt Carol know he was taking you here, but it took some time to get back to New York.”

Peter rolled back so he was lying next to Tony instead of basically on top of him and he noticed the teen blink at him sleepily. He must be exhausted after swinging around Boston all day. It didn’t seem to be too late into the day, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the teen hadn’t eaten anything yet and with his metabolism, that meant a sleepy little spider.

“So, what happened after I … left?”

Harley gave him a pointed look at his choice of words, making Tony grin slightly.

“We did as told and stayed out of the building. Not fun by the way,” he added, making Tony wince; he knew the feeling, “but then it blew up. Luckily Dr. Strange had managed to get in right on time and shielded the civilians with his magic. You were too far away, though, according to him.”

“Hey,” Tony tugged on Harley’s sweater and for once he didn’t resist as he was pulled into a hug. “I’m alright. Dr. Palmer said I’m perfectly healthy.”

Peter snorted, “Yeah, right.”

He heard Harley mutter something into his shoulder about killing Rogers and squeezed him a bit tighter.

He lay with Harley and Peter until Dr. Palmer came back with discharge papers, saying he was allowed to leave as long as he took it easy and let his own doctors at the compound check up with him once a day for the next three days.

He thanked her as he grabbed the two sleepy teens and left into the hallway. As soon as they left the room, Harley tried to wrestle his way out from under Tony’s arm, immediately making Tony tighten his hold and drop a kiss to the teen’s cheek who grumbled in annoyance. Tony let him go, satisfied he’d embarrassed the kid enough. He was sure to press a kiss to Peter’s cheek as well, who just giggled tiredly and pushed in even closer to Tony.

He was surprised when he found a certain sorcerer sitting in the hallway, sporting a pair of grey jeans with a dark blue sweater. Tony found that it suited him very well. The doctor was less comfortable in the hospital than he would have expected him to be. He sat curled into himself, hands tucked between his legs, head bowed towards his lap.

As he noticed the trio, he stood up, his delicate features rearranging themselves into the confident sorcerer he was supposed to be. 

“Do I know you,” he pointedly asked the doctor, who raised an unimpressed eyebrow, arms crossing over his chest. Tony turned towards Harley, who just looked on in amusement, smile crawling onto his face, “Doesn’t he look familiar? Hold on, it will come to me.”

“Really, Stark?”

“Oh, I know!” Tony exclaimed in exaggeration, still supporting Peter’s weight as he gestured his hands to accentuate his words, “I know a magician who looks just like you, except that he always wears pyjamas.”

“Usually people thank the person who saved their lives instead of mock them.”

“Nah, I’ll do you one better,” Tony waved off the sorcerer’s remark. “I’m treating you to cheeseburgers. It’s a tradition you can’t say no to.”

Peter immediately perked up in excitement, earning him a small eyeroll from Harley.

Stephen however, looked like he was about to do just that, but Tony wiggled his eyebrows at him, and he caved. “Fine, let me just say goodbye to Christine real quick.”

“Christine?” Tony frowned, but followed the sorcerer’s movements as he caught up with doctor Palmer. He watched as he smiled at the fellow doctor – _Christine, _apparently – and hugged her goodbye.

He never hugged _him _goodbye…

Why did that bother him? Why did he get annoyed when he saw her say something to him that made him look away sheepishly, blush visible from across the hall? Oh god, if that didn’t look adorable. He always loved to see the doctor blush, so why did he suddenly have a knot in his stomach, apatite completely forgotten?

When Stephen made his way back to them, Tony felt heat rise to his cheeks, afraid to look the man in the eyes.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a rain check,” he stated, nodding towards Peter as an excuse. It seemed to work, as the doctor politely agreed and offered to portal them home. Tony accepted, because he was pretty sure Peter was _actually _asleep standing up right now.

Later, when he was laying in his bed, his kids safe in their own rooms, he might have time to figure out what the hell that was about. Maybe he’ll even admit to himself that he was starting to feel something for the sorcerer. Or maybe he’ll find another excuse for his apparent jealousy. That would probably be for the best, anyway.

Yet, he wouldn’t be able to help but wonder if the sorcerer was downstairs, sitting on his red couch as he studied and feeling completely at ease in Tony’s space. He would be too afraid to check with Friday, not sure what answer he would fear most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I keep forgetting about the Cloak? 
> 
> Nanotech is cool but Mark 42 remains my fave so I indulged in having them both
> 
> next chapter: new family bonding (it's one of my faves) 
> 
> Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start: thank you for the comments I've gotten! I love reading them and I appreciate them very much!
> 
> Now onto on of my favourite chapters:

“Tony, we need to talk.” Steve’s voice sounded firm as he came up to Tony in the hallway. That could hardly be good news. He had successfully avoided the super soldier since their arrival, only seeing him in common areas with other people present.

It wasn’t that he thought the soldier would attack him if they were alone – not physically anyway – but he wasn’t ready to play nice yet.

He also very much liked not having anxiety attacks, so he’d like to keep it that way.

Today, apparently, was not his lucky day.

He was wearing his brace on his left arm, which tended to act up after a bad beating even if not actively having been hurt. The bruising left by the Boston mission from the day before was pissing him off with every step and both Harley and Peter were on a field trip and wouldn’t be back until late into the evening. Recent revelations concerning his own body undermining him and developing romantical feelings had also put a damper on his spirits.

“I’m not in the mood, Rogers, maybe Wilson can entertain you for a while.” He barely looked back as he continued to walk, praying for whatever god was still listening to him that someone would come to distract the soldier. Maybe Pepper could come by with some papers to sign. He was pretty sure Rogers was at least a little bit scared of her as any sane human being was. He had a sneaking suspicion Rogers had flashbacks to aunt Peggy every time they interacted.

He quickly shoved that thought aside though as she might not be back from her business trip to London yet. Goddamn Europe.

“I’m serious, Tony,” Rogers jogged to catch up, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Tony flinched as if burned, turning towards the soldier and taking a few steps back as he tried to keep his mask of indifference in place. The reaction had surprised even him. He had thought he’d been avoiding him because the thought of having to try and patch that whole mess up was just too depressing. He’d known there was anxiety there as well, but this was a whole new level of subconscious fear he hadn’t anticipated.

Tony tried to gauge Roger’s reaction to him backing away, but the other man just frowned as if disappointed and wrote it off.

“Look, I tried to give you space, but if we don’t work this out, things like yesterday might keep happening!” Rogers gave him his best team captain look, eyes as reasonable and convinced of himself as ever. He could barely belief he ever saw them as anything but delusional.

“I get that you don’t trust me,” Rogers continued, and Tony couldn’t help but let out a small huff and eyeroll, “I _get _it. And it might take some time to win it back, but you can’t undermine me in the field like that. We signed the accords. We’re where you want us to be, but you can’t stop us from trying to help people in need.”

Tony’s eyes darkened, near glaring at the man in front of him. “I’m not starting this shit with you again. This whole ‘If I see things go south, I will always step in’ bullshit. The truth, Rogers, which I know you seem to have a lot of problems with, is that _you are _south.”

“We had them,” Tony continued, taking a step closer to the soldier and making a “zip it” motion with his hand as the captain wanted to interrupt, “we _had _them. There were only four guys left and none of them were _actively _harming civilians. There were also seventeen of us. _Seventeen__. _One of which was a magic user, who could have portalled everyone to safety first. At least four of them could have taken the guys out _without _fighting and even hand-to-hand combatants could have ended them if they had gone in a _group _with others making sure the civilians were safe!”

Tony stared Rogers down. He was quiet, which didn’t mean he understood what was being said or agreed with it. “The problem, _Rogers, _wasn’t me going in after you. The problem, as it was when all this mess started with the accords, is that you can’t follow simple orders. You have a hero complex the size of _space _and you don’t know when to _stand down. _The world doesn’t revolve around you, _Cap. _Civilians could have gotten hurt because of _you. I _got hurt because of you._”_

The hall seemed eerily quiet when he stopped speaking. His voice still echoing through the hall. Steve’s face was set in firm lines. He looked regretful though, but Tony had seen that look often enough. Had seen it after he had planted a shield in his chest. With Steve, that could either mean ‘sorry, I did what had to be done’ or ‘sorry, I did this thing wrong, I’ll make sure to not change my actions in the future’.

“Again,” he added with the lasts sparks of hurt and anger coursing through him, before he turned around and walked away. He needed some Rhodey time.

\----

He found his distraction in the form of not only Rhodey, but also Pepper, Happy, Nat and Carol as he made his way into the common area. The sight of all of them together immediately eased some of his tension. Rhodey was sitting in his wheelchair, resting his legs after yesterday’s mission. He made a mental note to ask for pointers on the latest braces. They were obviously miles ahead of the previous ones. It was clear in the fluidity of Rhodey’s movements in them, the lack of lag and that Rhodey was able to wear them for longer before they got annoying. It had clearly done wonders to work together with an expert in the field. However, he didn’t feel like thinking about Stephen, like _at all _today, so he quickly turned his attention to Pepper instead.

“Pep! Oh, dear god above,” he walked up to her, pulling her into a hug as she smiled at him in exasperation. If she held on a little bit longer than him though, he was gentlemanlike enough to not point it out. “I needed you.” He added accusingly as he pulled back to look into her eyes. “Where were you?”

“Running your company,” she replied as usual, giving him a small kiss on the cheek before grabbing a glass of juice from the kitchen island she had been leaning against. She walked over to Rhodey, who had moved onto the couch, and sat down next to him, kicking off her heels and putting her feet on the coffee table. Tony grinned. He had missed his CEO.

He joined the others in the lounge. Rhodey and Pepper were listening to Happy talk about May, both of them chiming in with comments or advice. Carol on the other hand, was sat in one of the chairs facetiming New Asgard, her pet Flerken purring in her lap. Sitting down in a second couch next to Natasha, he glanced around at his little family.

He missed his kids, but sitting here surrounded by the people that have stuck by him throughout the worst moments of his life, was exactly what he needed right now. Natasha leaned her back against the armrest of the couch, pressing her toes underneath Tony’s thighs. She had been way more affectionate since returning from the rogues, though it had been a gradual thing. He placed his hand on her ankle.

_“Tony?” Tony turned around, less surprised than he should be to find the redhaired woman standing next to him on the balcony. He looked over at her but couldn’t meet her eyes. The hurt was too fresh, and he didn’t want her to see it. Didn’t want to show her that kind of vulnerability. She had exploited it before._

_She was standing here, though, not in Wakanda next to the other rogues. It could mean many things, he concluded. It could mean she was sent as a spy or to keep him in check. She could be meant as a distraction, another mole or to use him for resources. But maybe, as Tony’s treacherous heart couldn’t help but suggest, she had come back because she had realized she had made a mistake in the first place. That she had finally chosen him over Steve._

_“Romanoff.”_

_“I’m so sorry, Tony.” She spoke softly and for some reason it brought him back to his birthday party from long ago, when he had confided in her. It seemed like a weird memory to get back to, seeing as it had apparently all been a ruse. “You didn’t deserve that kind of betrayal. Not from me and especially not again.” She took a step closer, but kept her head down, facing the floor as a tear splattered on the tile._

_“Why,” was all Tony could ask. He was _tired, _sue him. Tired of people leaving, tired of betrayal. “You knew I was right.”_

_“They were going to get away anyway.” _

_“Then why did it take you a _week _to get back,” he bit back, staring off onto the compound grounds. Anger and frustration somehow being rejuvenated. _

_“I-,” she started, before stepping forward in anger. Determination was clear in her features, even as her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Goddammit, Tony, just _look _at me.”_

_Tony stilled in surprise as the spider grabbed his face and held it tight even as he resisted, forcing him to look her in the eyes. _

_“I want you to see the real me, right now,” she whispered even as her voice was starting to quake, “I promise, no more deception. No triple agent, no agent at all. I want you to hear me when I say this.”_

_Tony just stood quietly, staring into her eyes at the pain usually hidden behind a thin veil of neutrality or fake contacts. He was nothing if not stubborn, but, though he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of obeying her, he couldn’t look away. All he could do was harden his expression; hope for any remnants of a mask he had left to cover his true feelings. Breathing became a conscious effort, but he so badly wanted to believe she was speaking the truth._

_“The Avengers are… _were _my family,” she started, tears running freely now, “Even before all of this, Clint was the closest I had to a brother.”_

_“After New York… you had Pepper and Rhodey and Happy, Clint went back to Bedstuy, Thor even had Loki… you all had your own lives to get back to. I had no one. Perhaps maybe Fury as a closest thing to a father figure,” Tony could see where she bit through the last term, pausing to remember the agent who had started this all. _

_“But Steve was also alone,” she continued, shrugging with eyes full of regret. He could see it clearly there; she missed the captain. Before he could get pissed about it though, he noticed the grief present as well. The grief of a man lost to time. “so, I thought ‘hey, let’s stick with him’. Then there was Sam, and Wanda and Vision… We were living together… It may not have been family to you or the others, but it’s the closest thing to one I’d ever had.”_

_Tony could feel his own eyes turning red, but he continued looking into her eyes, searching for the tiniest bit of deception he could find. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. He didn’t want to be the fool. The dumbass who was so desperate for approval and friendship that he’d willingly ruin himself over and over and over again. _

_“You were right about the accords, of course you were. It was the only option. I liked working with the avengers, liked doing the right thing and mostly doing right by the people. Steve… he wasn’t going to stop,” she repeated again, face hardening as she finally let go of Tony’s face, but stayed close, “I fooled myself into thinking I had any control over Steve. I tried… in Wakanda, but he still wouldn’t see reason.”_

_“Clint,” Tony heard her voice break over the name, “he has changed a lot. Maybe it was Ultron or even before that… The Clint I used to know was fun and clever and reasonable. However, they were still my family. I couldn’t let them rot in the raft, Tony.”_

_He didn’t want to be the fool. _

_But god if he wouldn’t miss her. _

_“You’re on probation, Romanoff,” was all he said, voice hoarse, before sighing and turning to make his way back inside. Not before he had caught the smile that broke through her face, even as the tears seemed to be coming even faster. He’d be damned if that wasn’t the most sincere look he had ever seen on her. _

“You, okay,” he asked Nat, giving her ankle a light rub with his thumb.

“Just… weird, I guess,” she shrugged, placing her hands on her stomach. “Having the rogues back. Still haven’t spoken to Clint.”

“He still seething?”

Natasha groaned, glaring up at the ceiling, “Annoying prick.”

Tony laughed at Natasha’s annoyance, but stopped when a familiar metal arm walked past the door. He called out for the man in question, who stopped in his tracks and turned towards the common area.

“Hey, everyone,” he smiled shyly. Barnes had continued joining Sunday breakfast since the first time he had been invited, but besides that he still mainly took to solitude if possible. Tony understood. Hard to get some me-time when you’re a puppet or a fugitive.

“Good job, yesterday,” he told the super soldier, beckoning for him to sit down with them. “I heard you had the highest safe count, though Matt is claiming you have the unfair advantage of sight.”

“Oh, I know. My super strength would be useless without it,” he quipped dryly, earning a snort from Rhodey. “So, what are you guys doing?”

“I don’t know about everyone else, but Nat and I are moping.” Tony replied, just when Carol turned her screen around and introduced Val to the super soldier, dragging his attention away.

“What are _you _moping about,” Nat asked, pulling one foot from under his thigh to poke him with it. He hissed and slapped it away, giving her a look of betrayal. The spider only grinned at him in amusement. He had always liked her smile. It was reserved, more so than her fake ones, as if the reason of her amusement was a secret.

“I’ll have you know that a building fell on me yesterday.”

“Oh,” she asked innocently, “I thought a certain doctor had come to the rescue?”

He sighed at her with a small eyeroll. _Of course, _the little spy new about his apparent crush on the sorcerer. Leave it to her to figure it out before even he did.

“So, Buck,” Tony called for a distraction, ignoring Nat’s knowing look. He was probably going to get cornered later. “How is the transition going? Enjoying the compound? Does Peter still follow you around like a puppy? He tends to do that to new people. Kind of a ‘newbie has the fish’ kind of situation. You already beat Maya’s three-week record.”

Bucky smirked, interrupting his conversation with Carol. The video call had apparently ended. “He’s a smart kid. Asked to tinker with my arm.”

Tony groaned, but couldn’t help but smile at the mention of his son. “I bet Shuri would just _love _for Peter to mess with her tech. He didn’t break anything did he? He can get a little carried away sometimes.”

“I actually haven’t let him touch it yet,” Bucky smiled guiltily, “I didn’t know whether you’d be okay with it. Wakandan tech is very different from what Peter’s used to.”

Tony gawked at Bucky, noticing the others were staring as well. Carol was the one who asked what everyone was wondering, “You said _no _to him? Peter? Peter Parker?”

“Was I not supposed to?” Bucky glanced at Carol self-consciously, brow furrowing as he tucked his hair behind his ear.

“No, it’s just,” Tony started, impressed, “no one is ever able to. Even Carol can’t deny the kid when he uses his puppy eyes. The only ones who can are Pepper and May, but that’s because the kid is lowkey scared of them and rightfully so.”

“Hey,” Pepper piped up, sending Tony a cross look.

“Everyone with an ounce of self-preservation does, Pep” Rhodey offered, earning him a small smack against his shoulder, as Tony shrugged and waved off Pepper’s comment.

“It’s true, though,” Carol supplied, “I once flew him to school, because he made it sound so reasonable.”

“Boss,” Friday piped up, making everyone look up as a hologram was projected down from the ceiling, “the UN has sent for a call to arms.”

“What’s going on, baby girl?”

“Multiple threats have been made for another terrorist attack in Brussels. The State Security Service has reason to believe they’re legitimate. The Minister of Defence has appealed to the UN to send a New Avengers’ team as surveillance.”

Carol sat up straighter and glanced over the information sent through by Everett Ross. “Rhodes?”

“My team is the best for undercover work,” he supplied, studying the data as well. “Half your team isn’t at the compound right now, anyway. Just get them here as back-up.”

Carol nodded in agreement, sending out an alert to the people in question. “Tony, any Trainees to send along? We need all the eyes and ears we can get.”

Tony pondered for a second. He thought it could be a great opportunity to send out Molly for the first time. The girl had been training with Jessica and had already shown a lot of skill in stress-heavy situations. Sadly, she was still on the fieldtrip, as was Harley, which was a shame as well as Tony himself wasn’t allowed on the field.

“You can take Nico and Chase. They’re inconspicuous and their skills could be useful.” He pondered for a second more as Natasha nodded in agreement. “I’d also like to recommend Wanda.”

He got a few surprised looks from his teammates. Natasha was studying his face carefully, so he made extra effort to not let any anxiety at the mention of the little witch show.

“She did great in Lagos,” he shrugged, “besides the obvious of course. However, her quick thinking _did _stop the bomb from exploding in the square, she just needs to aim _away _from the buildings next time. I believe training with the good doctor has given her more control over her powers. I’ll just have to text him to get an OK.”

There was a small smile on Natasha’s face that he pointedly ignored. Carol considered his request but left the decision up to Rhodey as he would be team lead in this mission.

“Alright,” Rhodes replied, getting up and moving back into his wheelchair, “but only if Nat keeps an eye on her.”

“I’m fine with that,” Nat shrugged, giving Rhodey a nod.

“Is there anything I can help with,” Bucky asked, glancing at the people starting to get up. “You’re down a player with Iron Man out of the field.”

Rhodes and Carol looked at each other, before Rhodey replied, “sure, Barnes, tag along.”

Tony tagged along as well, though he wasn’t allowed to take his suit – Pepper would have killed him if he tried. As head of the Junior Avengers though, he had to keep an eye on his trainees, which is why he was monitoring everyone’s position from the quinjet. They had landed in a military base and Wanda had portalled them into the underground system, spreading out to cast a web throughout the city.

Sources and a bit of hacking by Natasha showed the most probable site of attack was the Grand Place, the tourist rich market surrounded by small streets for an easy exit and maximum damage. Nat and Wanda were sat at a café, keeping an eye out for suspicious behaviour while Clint and Nico both watched from nearby rooftops.

“Black Widow, 3 o’clock man with a package,” Jessica said through the coms. Natasha glanced in said direction, giving the man in question a quick look.

“Negative. Keep an eye on the package, but unless he leaves it somewhere, we’re good.”

The coms remained silent for a while, everyone focussing on the crowd, keeping an eye out for possible stragglers. Tony’s attention wavered as he glanced at his phone, opening his messages to Stephen’s reply from earlier.

** Bibi Blocksberg: **

_OK on Wanda and Nico joining the mission. Won’t be able to supervise as there is an emergency at Kamar Taj. Shouldn’t be a problem though._

_\- SS_

It’s wasn’t a problem indeed, as nothing significant seemed to be happening. However, Tony was drawn to his mention of there being an emergency. He reminded himself that Stephen was Sorcerer Supreme and very capable of taking care of himself.

“Wasp,” Rhodey’s voice came through the com system, “how’s the Parlementarium?”

Hope and Rhodey were keeping an eye on the Parlementarium and European Quarter respectively, both having upped their security just in case. Jessica and Luke were walking around the market area, stopping at souvenir shops and waffle stands, the perfect picture of a couple on holiday.

Lastly, Bucky was taking his son out for a trip around the city. Both were wearing gloves to hide their metal or metal clad hands.

When no response came from Hope, Tony leaned forward, pressing a few buttons to get her location.

“Friday, what’s up with Wasp’s coms?”

“It seems like an EMP has taken out communications for the whole block surrounding the Parlementarium, Boss.”

“Tones,” Rhodey’s voice came through more serious now.

“It’s fine, honeybear, you’d have heard an explosion,” he interrupted him, “Sister Grimm, portal Jones and yourself to the Parliament to check it out.”

“On it,” came Nico’s reply. She quickly made a portal to an alleyway near where Jessica and Luke were standing, pretending to recognise the pair and start a conversation so not to draw attention as they walked towards a more secluded location to portal to the Parlementarium. 

“Everything seems fine at the Parlement,” Jones’ voice rang through the coms, protected by Nico’s sceptre. “Coms seem to be the only thing down. State agents and security are checking the building. Hope already found the EMP scrambling the signal in a dumpster outside.”

Tony frowned, just as Chase piped up, “Man looking sketch near the stairs of Town Hall.”

The man in question was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark wind breaker. There was nothing to set him apart from the crowd, except for the look of angry determination on his face.

“Nice catch, Talkback,” Tony directed his stealth drones to get a better visual on the suspect. “Widow?”

“I see him. Textbook terrorist facial expression.” Nat spoke up, holding a hand in front of her to hide her mouth. “Can’t rule out he’s alone yet. I suggest holding positions until he makes a move.”

“Alright,” Rhodes answered, “Scarlet Witch can you contain possible explosions or shield civilians if we don’t stop him in time?”

“Yes,” Wanda replied, even if her voice shook a little. Tony guessed this particular mission wasn’t bringing back happy memories.

“Cage and Widow, keep surveilling the area for possible accomplices while everyone else keeps an eye on this guy. Hawkeye, I want an arrow on him at all times.”

Tony let his team do its thing as he kept one eye on the visuals. Meanwhile, he got Friday to hack into any possible tech he had on him. Apparently, even terrorists had their phones on them at all times.

He scoured through his last messages, and when he couldn’t find anything suspicious, checked his other apps. It appeared he had been using some kind of home-made app that could send encrypted messages.

It took less than 10 seconds for Friday to hack into and decrypt it.

“The guy’s working with one accomplice,” He told his team. “A guy named Patrick who was in charge of activating the EMP at the Parlementarium as a distraction. I’m sending out two drones to find the guy.”

“Great job, Tony,” Rhodes praised, “any idea what weapon he’s planning to use?”

“Looks like a typical explosive belt. Oh… oh, dear,” Tony watched the scans, letting out a long-suffering sigh.

“What,” came out Rhodey’s panicked question.

“It’s Hammer Industries, we could have stayed home.” 

Rhodey snorted at his comment – and Tony just _knew _he was rolling his eyes – before giving his team permission to engage.

As Wanda threw up a protective barrier around the civilians, Chase blasted the guy with his fistagons. The electrical blasts threw the man onto the ground, while also disabling the detonator.

Tony took a moment to feel proud of his trainees as he tracked down the accomplice. It didn’t take long for his AI to find him hiding out at their base of operation.

Rhodey sent Wasp in for recognisance, disabling other explosives rigged around the place and alerting Jessica and Nico of the weapons present. The two apprehended the guy and handed him over to the state agents and everyone could breathe freely at a job well done.

\---

“I guess some things never changed,” came a familiar voice from the doorway.

“Brucie!” Tony looked up in surprise, grinning widely at his friend. Bruce looked on in amusement at the sight of Tony in his lab. “Friday, why wasn’t I warned about Bruce’s arrival?”

He walked over towards Bruce, enveloping him into a hug.

“I asked her to keep quiet. I wanted to surprise you.” Bruce returned the hug. When he pulled back, he let his gaze slide over the room, taking in the new workspace. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”

“Yeah, wasn’t really time for a tour last time, was there.” Tony turned back towards his workbench with a wave of his hand. “Welcome to my domain. Speaking of; how’s New Asgard?”

“We’re getting there. When I left, Thor was trying to set up a financial system. Valkyrie wasn’t much help.” Bruce stepped closer to the workbenches, looking around at different projects displayed on them. “So, what is my _science bro _working on?”

“Brucie, you’re going to make me blush!” He’d really missed Bruce. When they’d met, Bruce had probably had even more issues than him, which had been refreshing. It was nice to be the one to comfort another person for once, instead of being the one who was being babysat. Besides, the man was smart. They could talk science and bounce ideas off of one another for hours; he was delightful company with impeccable manners. “I’m actually not working on anything big right now. Mainly suit updates and helping the kids with their projects.”

“Times have changed, hu,” the doctor asked, face softening, “I can’t remember the last time I used one of my PhD’s.”

Tony snorted, shaking his head in refusal. “Well, that’s going to change! Time to get your mad scientist out again.”

He moved towards a free table, pulling out a hologram and opening a new project folder. “What are you thinking of? Nuclear physics? You missing that? I’ve already finished the bionic legs for Rhodey. How about a new AI? For New Asgard? No? Just kidding anyway.”

They started working, which mainly consisted of them sitting down and brainstorming about possible projects. Tony didn’t mind. He’d missed this. Their train of thought concerning SI’s successes surrounding clean energy, quickly led their conversation back to more personal conversations.

“How is the Big Guy,” Tony asked, throwing the little stress ball he’d been playing with in the air. “Haven’t seen him in a while. There’s a playground for him downstairs if he’d like to let off some steam. I think fresh air might do him wonders too. There isn’t a soul around for miles so don’t hold back.”

Bruce chuckled, giving Tony a fond look. “He’s great. After having been out for two years he’s gotten more vocal. The Asgardians are great as well. Hulk is just a big green guy to them. Can’t really harm the gods.”

“I’m glad to hear you’ve found your place. Him too.”

He liked the Hulk. He was protective and excitable, even if Tony had seemed to be the only one of the old Avengers who thought so. The big guy’s only fault was that he preferred tea, but thinking back to recent months and flying capes, maybe tea wasn’t so bad after all. Also, maybe Hulk and coffee wasn’t such a great idea.

“How about you, Tony? You seem to be doing great.”

“Yeah, well,” Tony shrugged, smile tugging at his lips.

“How about Rogers?”

Tony’s smile faltered, staring down at the ball he was toying with. “What about him?”

“Look,” Bruce started, leaning forward in his chair to get a better look at Tony, “I wasn’t around for the whole ‘civil war’ bullshit. But, he’s back now.

You and Steve.. never hit it off, but you always made it work... Ultron... was bad ... but I thought things were getting better. What changed?”

“The bomb exploded. People got hurt,” Tony replied, having had this argument one too many times before. Usually with himself in the mirror when he was feeling pathetic.

“I said that before Manhattan,” Bruce said, regret in his voice. He had nothing to be regretful for though. He had been right. “Things worked out. Give him another chance. He’s part of the Avengers, always has been. “

“Let it go, Bruce.” Tony looked up to find Nat standing in the doorway. Face impassive. He’d long ago lifted the restriction for Natasha. After their new start post-Civil War, they’d found comfort in each other’s presence, being the only ones left.

“You don’t agree with me,” Bruce asked her, confusion written in his features.

“No,” Natasha answered firmly. For the first time, Tony couldn’t find any regret in her features when talking about the rogues. Tony frowned. “I thought like you once, Bruce; that staying together was more important than _how _we stayed together. But that mantra doesn’t work when one person refuses to compromise. Then it just becomes us being dragged along into Steve’s mess.”

“I asked him to follow that line of thinking once, but he clearly didn’t care. So why would we?” Natasha sighed, rubbing her forehead, before turning to look back at Bruce. “Steve was unhinged. We pulled him into a war right after he almost died to stop another one. He was too much of a loose cannon.”

“Are we really going to push him out because of his trauma-“

“Don’t, Bruce. You don’t know.” Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. Tony could see Natasha’s eyes move towards him momentarily, regret now clear. “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t,” Tony asked her, brow furrowed.

“You didn’t tell us about Siberia. About what really happened.” Natasha moved forward, jumping up onto the worktable in between Tony and Bruce, glancing at both of them in turn. “I don’t blame you on keeping quiet, Tony, but people need to know to understand your plight concerning Rogers.”

“Siberia,” Bruce asked in confusion.

Tony ignored him, fully focussing on Natasha in awe. “I thought you would have hacked into the video files earlier. Isn’t that what you do? Isn’t that why you came back?”

Natasha chuckled, glancing at him fondly. “Tony, at this point I couldn’t hack you even if I wanted to. I was turning over a new leaf, remember. I overheard Stephen and Wanda’s conversation.”

Understanding flooded through Tony, along with a newfound admiration for his friend. He’d trusted her reasoning for coming back but had assumed part of it was due to the horrors committed by Steve. He’d guessed she’d felt guilty for giving Steve the opportunity, for backing his play. Realising she came back without that piece of information – and then kept her promise of no more agent – filled him with a newfound fondness.

He reached out to take her hand and give it a firm squeeze. She looked back at him fondly.

“Is this a thing now,” Bruce asked, glancing between the two. Tony burst out laughing, but Natasha just rolled her eyes.

“How heteronormative of you, Banner,” Natasha smirked, sending Tony a mischievous smile that immediately made him want to delete this entire conversation. He knew where this was going. “Speaking off…”

Tony groaned, pulling his hand back and putting his face in his hands. “Do you have to do this?”

“Yes,” she grinned, “How _is _our good doctor?”

“I’m so confused.”

“So am I, Bruce, so am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter so much. I wrote it after I rewatched Civil War and had a massive revelation and new found respect for Natasha. 
> 
> Hope y'all liked it too. 
> 
> Also guess where I'm from lol
> 
> Next Chapter: Stark household angst (but it's good I Promise) 
> 
> Tumblr: @Funkylittlebidiot


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by one of my favourite mama bear Stephen stories from @elisaphoenix (Tumblr: @elisaphoenix13)
> 
> [The True Fury Of A Mama Bear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18924907)

It had been a while since he’d last seen Tony, the other man caught up in both SI and Junior Avenger meetings. On top of that, some students had spectacularly mucked up a spell in Kamar Taj and it had taken a while to reverse the effects.

There hadn’t been any reasons for him to hang out at the compound anymore either, since both Wanda and Elsa had now joined in with the regular Avenger trainings. He had followed some news coverage about the mission in Brussels and he was pleased to see the amount of positivity starting to circulate about Scarlet Witch’s successful second chance.

He knew Tony wouldn’t mind one bit if he stuck around, but he couldn’t justify it to himself or Wong, who had been getting fussy about having to take over Stephen’s duties.

So, Stephen hadn’t seen him, and he was very annoyed about it. He had gotten used to the man’s constant sass around him, the sound of his tinkering as he worked on a new set of web-shooters. He even missed the two teens that would sit in the back, whispering as they worked on their own projects, looking over sheepishly every time something ‘accidentally’ blew up.

Once again, he was stuck in the sanctum, only leaving for his Sorcerer Supreme duties. It had gotten to him so badly that he had started spending more time at Kamar Taj again. The distance between Nepal and New York seemed smaller than between the compound and sanctum, and Stephen was able to keep himself busy. He had actually decided to start teaching the students, to his own surprise, never once dreamt of thinking he would miss mentoring people.

Wong on the other hand, had only seemed amused when Stephen had offered his services.

He was just on his way to portal back to Nepal after his lesson with Nico, when a voice spoke up from above him.

“Doctor Strange!”

Stephen looked up at Peter with a smile. It was hard not to when the teen was clambering towards him via the ceiling.

“I could have sworn I’d exorcized all demons from this dimension,” Stephen asked himself, feigning an expression of confusion.

“Woah, really, is that where you’ve been,” The teen asked, eyes wide in awe as he dropped down in front of the sorcerer. Stephen was surprised the teen had even noticed his absence.

“I was joking, Peter. There are no demons. At least not in that sense.” He looked at the teen in amusement when the boy’s expression fell in disappointment. “What can I help you with?”

“Oh,” the kid perked up, seemingly having forgotten about why he had stopped the doctor in the first place. “I was wondering if you could help me with my homework,” the kid looked a bit sheepish at the request, “Usually doctor Banner or mister Stark help me, but they’re both busy and I know you used to be a doctor and we have this biology test coming up and MJ said she has started studying for it last week and even Ned seems to have most of it done already so I’m already running behind and –“

“Peter,” Stephen interrupted the teens rambling, the kid stopping in his tracks and staring at the doctor, faint blush on his cheeks. “I have some time now if you want.”

The kid’s smile grew huge at the answer, “Thank you so much!”

\----

Harley knew he had a bad temper sometimes; he was fully aware that once he got going, he couldn’t always control the words coming out of his mouth. It was arrogance perhaps, something he’d somehow picked up during elementary school or maybe just from being so close to Tony Stark.

It was hard to not feel better than the bullies that constantly taunted him, especially when they themselves were so clearly not all there. Once you get a lab update from the most famous engineer in the world, it was hard to go out and make friends instead of getting lost in inventing and trying out all his new and awesome toys.

Having moved into the Compound after the Thanos attack had been weird for many reasons. For one, he wasn’t in his tiny town in Tennessee anymore. New York was big and disorienting and unfriendly.

Another thing was his school. The halls were wide and unfamiliar and filled with students he didn’t know. In his hometown, it had just been the same 60 something kids ageing up together.

It was also strange how he had gone from a boy with a mother and sister in Rose Hill, Tennessee, to a teen with a brother and father in upstate New York. He loved hanging out with Peter though and getting to catch up with Tony. How they spent their evenings together or bonded in the lab. It was nice to have a teen with the same interests as him. Even if Peter was a giant nerd.

He loved being at the compound as it remined him of home. His mother’s house had been tiny, even for only three people living there. It had always been crowded, always noisy and often filled with neighbours. The compound was a lot bigger – like a _lot _– and Harley definitely didn’t miss sharing a bathroom with both his mom and sister, but there were always people running around. One didn’t have to be lonely if they didn’t want to be. It had taken a few weeks to fill up, but ever since Tony had started recruiting more avengers, both Junior and New, there were always people around for a chat.

It’s why it was with great reluctance that he didn’t follow Peter outside towards where Anna and Molly were most likely already waiting with Happy. Instead, he had to make his way towards afterschool detention.

He slouched down into a chair at the back of the room, mentally preparing himself for whatever Captain Jackass video’s they’d have to loop. If he didn’t already dislike Rogers for what he’d done to his father, he would loathe him purely by all the shit lectures they made everyone listen to. He wasn’t the only teen who associated the superhero with the pacer test. There was no coming back from that.

He spent his hour alternating between cursing Steve and Samuel Heisselbach, the kid who had landed him here in the first place. If only it had been a Thursday, at least then MJ might have been around as she had to wait for her parents to pick her up. He was shamelessly leeching off of Peter’s friendships, seeing as he hadn’t bothered making any of his own.

Once his hour of melancholy had passed, Harley jumped up and was out the door in an instant, ready to be home as soon as possible. He walked out of the building, about to grab his phone to ask if anyone would be able to pick him up – maybe Aunt Pepper was in the city – when he felt someone grab his arm. Before he was able to finally use one of those sick moves aunt Natasha had been teaching him, everything went dark around him.

\---

Stephen found himself sitting in the Stark penthouse dining room, Peter sitting in front of him with a bunch of papers spread out in front of them. They had just passed seven pm, when the door slid open and Tony Stark himself strut in. He had clearly been in meetings all day as he was wearing a simple business suit without the familiar glow of the arc reactor housing unit.

Stephen forced down a smile at the sight of the man, ignoring the weird twist his stomach made.

“Hey,” Stark walked up towards the table, grabbing Peter by the head and placing a kiss on his crown. “Where’s Harley? Dinner’s almost ready.”

“You haven’t even started yet,” Peter snorted, dropping his pen to properly face his father.

“So, you _don’t _want take-out?”

Peter immediately jumped out of his chair and ran down the hall towards Harley’s room. Tony snickered in amusement, before turning towards Stephen. He didn’t like the look that crossed Tony’s face as he looked towards him. “Haven’t seen you in a while. You staying for dinner?”

“No, thank you,” he politely refused, “I have to get back to the sanctum soon.”

They fell silent after that and Stephen didn’t like it. The vibe was off. It wasn’t the comfortable but quiet enjoyment of each other’s company he was used to, instead something awkward. Stephen was about to say something to ease the tension, but Peter walked into the kitchen then.

“Harley isn’t here,” he said to his father. Tony frowned at that. The kids were usually the ones dragging _him _up for dinner.

“Friday, can you tell Harley to come up for dinner, please.”

“I would, Boss, but it seems like Mr. Keener isn’t in the building.”

Stephen glanced at Tony, fear and confusion was clear in his features.

“Peter, did Harley say what he was going to do after you guys came home,” the sorcerer asked the kid. They had been sitting here since peter had come back from school, so he knew they hadn’t spoken since.

“I forgot,” Peter looked at Tony with wide eyes, “Harley didn’t come with us after school. He got detention. Happy was going to circle back after he had dropped us off, though so…”

Peter was cut off by Tony’s phone ringing. Stephen saw the man’s face sag in relief when he pressed the answer button and threw up a hologram of the face call trying to connect to Harley’s phone. Stephen froze though, when instead of Harley’s face, a random guy in a mask appeared.

“Mr. Stark,” the voice sneered, “we have something of yours. We thought you’d might want it back.”

Tony’s face was stone as the man flipped the camera and showed Harley slumped against a wall. He seemed to be kept in a basement room. The walls were simple red brick and the floor was covered in plastic.

Stephen looked over as Tony sighed, “What do you want.”

To a stranger he might even look bored, but Stephen noted the way his hands twitched and the lines in his face that screamed anger. Stephen slowly stood up from his seat and moved closer to the engineer, both to subtly lay a comforting hand on his arm and to get a better look at the images. Peter was still standing in the doorway, worry and guilt warring on his features.

Stephen was starting to see red.

“It’s fairly simple, really. You see, Mr. Stark, …”

“No thank you,” Stephen stated as he pressed the end-call button. Tony whirled on him in an instant, clearly not knowing whether to be angry at the sorcerer.

“What the hell, Strange,” Tony yelled out, glad for the escape for the tension coursing through his body. Stephen held out a calming hand, looking Tony in the eyes. “This isn’t the time for games! That is my _kid!_”

“Have you never learned not to negotiate with terrorists?” Stephen stepped away from Tony, but didn’t go far, silently begging Tony to trust him for a little while longer as he tried to keep his own anger under control. He took out his slingring and created the portal.

As expected, the man in a mask was debating with two others on whether to call back or not, making Stephen smirk sadistically as they looked up in anger at the portal opening into their secret lair. He didn’t give them time to think, instead, he used his energy whips to slam them against the wall. With two more hand movements the men were unconscious and detained in the mirror dimension.

Tony yelled Harley’s name as he followed Stephen through the portal and fell down next to the unconscious teen.  
  
Two more man barged into the room at the outcry of their teammates, angling Stark weapons at his chest. Stephen _growled_, surprising even himself at the distaste and contempt coursing through him. _How dare they use Tony’s own weapons to kidnap his child._

He almost wanted to break his oath and snap their necks, but begrudgingly blocked the blasts with his shields, letting the cloak fly out to neutralise the guns.

Two repulsor blasts hit one of the guys in the chest, and Stephen glanced at Tony. He must have called on one of his suits, as he had one arm covered in armour, the rest waiting for him in the kitchen. Tony looked absolutely livid and Stephen couldn't deny that it wasn't doing things for him.

He called upon the Shackles of Arkhadon, which quickly wrapped themselves around the remaining kidnapper. With one more twist and push of his arms, both men flew backwards into the mirror dimension.

Stephen wasted no time to turn around and move towards the body that was Harley.

Stephen sat down next to him and his father and checked the teen for any trauma. Harley groaned as he pressed a hand to his neck, but as he had already expected, the teen’s pulse was steady.

“I think they just gave him a minor tranquiliser,” He told Tony, giving the man a comforting squeeze on his arm. “He just needs to sleep it off.”

Stephen used his magic to lift Harley through the portal and into his bedroom, where he placed the sleeping teen on his bed. Peter ran along with him, immediately taking a seat next to his brother’s head. Tony came in a second later, carrying a glass of water and Harley’s bookbag, which he must have found while going through the basement. He placed the bag next to the door and the glass on the nightstand, before combing a hand through Harley’s hair.

He nodded his head at Stephen, and he followed the engineer back into the hallway. He closed the door to Harley’s bedroom behind him, leaving it open just a crack, before he turned towards the sorcerer.

Stephen watched with fondness as the man looked at the floor with heavy eyelids, shifting his feet before looking back up at him. “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier.”

“It’s quite alright,” Stephen gave the shorter man a reassuring smile. “I could have explained my actions better.”

“I just…,” Tony looked down at the ground again, but Stephen saw the moment his face hardened in determination. “Thank you.”

Stephen tensed when he was pulled into a hug, relaxing when the scent of Tony’s cologne overwhelmed him. Placing a tentative hand on the engineers back and another between his shoulder blades, he squeezed back. 

“Any day, Stark.” He spoke softly, as they were so impossibly close. This had been nothing. Not only was it barely any work, it was _Harley_. He was only a teen and one Stephen actually liked at that. But Stephen was starting to realise there were few things he _wouldn’t _do for Tony.

What felt like way too soon, Tony stepped back and let go of Stephen. He smiled bashfully up at the sorcerer, taking his breath away, before taking Stephen’s hand and softly pulling him into the kitchen as to not hurt him.

“Now, Harley is going to be asleep for a little while longer, I might as well make him a homemade meal.”

He let go of Stephen’s hand as he started looking through the cabinets, pulling out ingredients and bowls, and Stephen took a place at the kitchen island trying not too hard to miss his touch.

“I didn’t know you cooked,” he teased, relieved they had gone back to their usual comfort around one another. He was also glad to see that with every second, the tension was leaving Tony’s body. Smiling was becoming easier for him again and the hard lines in his features were starting to fade.

“I’ll have you know I’m a very respectable housewife,” Tony stopped in front of the island, allowing him to chat with Stephen while chopping vegetables. “Honestly, those two are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Stephen’s heart almost broke at the words, the love and affection behind them making him want to write sonnets in his name. Of course, he didn’t. Because that would be weird. Instead, he just gave the man a soft smile and got lost in those gorgeous brown eyes.

“You haven’t told me how you met Harley, yet.” Tony full out grinned as he turned towards Stephen and told him the story, and Stephen felt like he could listen to him talk forever.

\----

When dinner was ready, Tony was already feeling a lot better. Not only had he done something productive with his pent-up anxiety, it had also just made the time go by faster. He hoped Harley would wake up soon, just so he could make sure the kid was okay for real. He was also grateful for Stephen’s presence. He had been afraid the man would find an excuse and leave, but instead the sorcerer had stuck around and that alone seemed to have had a grounding effect on him.

They had talked and talked, and Tony loved how easily conversation flew between the two of them. Tony knew how to charm a room and hold a conversation, but with Stephen everything felt different.

Not only was the man witty enough to keep up with his quips and jabs, the doctor was also very intelligent and could theorise with him for hours. Tonight, had been different than usual though. They _talked_.

Stephen had asked him about meeting Harley, a conversation that had quickly led to an even deeper talk about both their struggles with PTSD. Now they had circled back to how both boys were doing in school and the new plans Tony had for their suits.

He knew he was fucked. Where he previously could have written off his feelings for a simple misunderstanding or trick of the imagination, being around the sorcerer again made him realise there was no way denying the happiness the man brought into his life.

“You’re staying.” Tony stated as he grabbed four plates out of the cupboard and placed them on the table, leaving no room for argument. Stephen didn’t seem to mind though as he just sent him an amused eyebrow raise. Tony loved when he did that.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter yelled from Harley’s bedroom, making his head snap in that direction as his heart immediately started to race, “I think Harley’s waking up.”

Tony was in his kid’s bedroom before he’d even thought about moving, sitting on the side of Harley’s bed as Peter took a step back. Harley looked peaceful with his eyes closed, reminding him of the boy he’d met in the garage in Tennessee. His hair was shorter now, but it still curled around his ears. Tony moved his hand to Harley’s forehead, detecting no fever, and another burst of relief went through him when Harley groaned and leaned into the contact.

Tony moved his hand to card through the boy’s hair again as he softly shook the boy, amused as he curled more into his pillow with a groan.

“Harley, time to wake up.”

“Dad?”

Tony froze.

The kids had been calling the other avengers aunt and uncles as a running joke, but he never considered what it could lead to or how sincere it had turned. He had never thought he’d be a good dad. He even managed to do his AI’s wrong.

Could Harley be thinking of his biological father? Sure, he had never spoken fondly of the man, but even Tony thought of Howard in times of vulnerability. The soft voice melted his heart, though, and he felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes.

“Yeah, kid, you’re home. You’re safe,” he reassured his son, smiling as he saw Harley’s eyes flutter open. He saw the kid glance around the room tiredly and frown when he noticed Peter and Stephen standing a few feet away. Tony hadn’t even realised he’d come with him.

“What happened?”

The sorcerer moved forward and, gaining an okay from Tony, kneeled down in front of the boy telling him to take it easy as he tried to sit up.

“I’m just going to check your pupils, okay, Harley,” Stephen asked and did just so as the teen nodded his head before stopping and placing a hand on his temple. He was pleased to see they weren’t dilated. He went through the usual test, ignoring the feeling of bittersweet nostalgia that came with it. “Does your head hurt?”

“No, just a little dizzy.”

“Good,” Stephen nodded an OK to Tony and he finally felt like he was able to fully breathe again. He pulled Harley into hug, ignoring the teen’s usual grumbling.

“Dad?” Tony’s head snapped towards Peter, sure one of these days he was going to fully develop whiplash. Peter was stubbornly not looking away even as he was slowly turning red. “I’m hungry.”

Tony snorted, but pulled Harley out of his bed, wrapping an arm around him to steady him, and did the same when he passed Peter, pressing a kiss to his youngest’s head. When he found the sorcerer’s eyes from across the room, everything felt absolutely perfect.

They ate dinner together, Harley telling his side of what had happened. It was rather short as he’d been unconscious the whole time, but luckily Peter was more than happy to fill in the gaps and making sure to let Harley know exactly how badass Stephen had been.

Tony just rolled his eyes in exasperation at his sons, letting Stephen steal the spotlight just this once. The sorcerer himself was quiet, seemingly content to just listen and answer questions whenever they were fired in his direction. He tried not to focus too much on the sorcerer. He didn’t want whatever feelings he appeared to be harbouring for the doctor to grow. He was already too self-destructive to add ‘unrequited love’ to the list. 

“So, then Harley was all like “it’s not my fault he has the mental capacity of a domesticated turkey”.”

Tony almost choked on his drink and tried to pass it off as a coincidence. He saw Stephen just managing to hide his snort of laughter behind a trembling hand.

“Harley,” Tony chastised, trying his best to not let his amusement show. It clearly wasn’t working as Harley was fighting back his own grin as he looked down at his plate.

“How do you even know that,” Harley questioned, turning towards Peter, who looked away sheepishly. The incident had happened during his third period science class. He had been paired together with Samuel Heisselbach, a dark-haired kid from the swimming team. He really wasn’t even that dumb, just very annoying. It’s clearly not his fault that he distractedly had pointed at the wrong bottle, and the chemical reaction had been but a minor inconvenience at best.

“I heard it from Ned’s older brother, who heard it from his friend who was in your year…”

Later, when Harley had gone back to bed to sleep off the rest of the drugs and Peter had gone to his own room to finish his homework, Stephen was helping Tony with clearing the table. Tony took care in making sure he carried the heavy plates, while Stephen collected the cutlery. He was getting tired of the constant affection coursing through his veins. It was exhausting to smile at the sorcerer across the table when all he wanted to do was reach out and grab one of his hands.

The giddiness was constantly being chased away by the sad knowledge that it could never be more. That it was all only inside his own head. And what business had Stephen to look at him like _that._

Tony refused to believe the way Stephen looked at him was normal for him. He swore he got chills every time those pretty blue eyes looked in his direction, full of an affection he never showed anyone but Tony. And Christine, apparently.

But as easy as it was to imagine those eyes looking at him from across a pillow, a breakfast table, a dinner for two, movie night with the kids,… it was also easy to imagine those eyes dark and cold, full of anger, or even worse, pale disappointment as they turn away to leave. To leave Tony, alone and broken.

That had always been the problem wasn’t it. Pepper had been able to stand him for years, but as soon as it became _more_, it quickly became too much. He didn’t blame her either, and was grateful every day she was still in his life.

He’d had friends in the rogue avengers, but as soon as they had started seeing the real him, the paranoia (_just_, he must add) and insecurities that lay underneath, they either used him or tossed him away. Or both.

Always been an easy target to blame, to release their anger upon. He couldn’t stand the thought of the same happening to him and Stephen.

He fought back a miserable sigh as he took the cutlery from Stephen, instead he forced his mind back to earlier that day.

As if reading his mind, Stephen leaned against the kitchen counters next to the dishwasher and asked, “Was that the first time they called you ‘dad’?”

Tony couldn’t help but grin, thinking back to Harley’s words. He knew that kid could manipulate with sweettalk in his sleep, it was no surprise he’d immediately been drawn to Natasha once they were introduced, but Tony had never expected him to actually call him dad. Let alone with so much sincerity. It reminded him of parting ways with the kid in 2013. “That obvious?”

“Nah, you’re just easy to read.” Tony quirked an eyebrow at the sorcerer, his earlier melancholy already forgotten as he revelled in being able to tease the sorcerer. He’d always been an addict, couldn’t deny himself life’s many pleasures, and he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to get lost in Stephen for as long as possible.

“Is that so.” He closed the dishwasher and moved to lean against the kitchen island, so he was standing opposite Stephen in the small space. He just had to move his foot a few inches to touch Stephen’s toes if he so pleased. “Tell me, Dumbledore, what am I thinking right now?”

Tony watched as Stephen’s eyes darkened, and he followed his Adam’s apple as it bopped in his throat. He was so mesmerised by the change in Stephen’s features, how it suited him as much as his easy smiles did, that he barely noticed that the distance between the two of them seemed to fall away. The scent of tea leaves and – was that incense? – overwhelmed his senses, making his head fussy and all coherent thought fly out the window.

He felt his lips part slightly as his eyes slid down from Stephen’s to take a glimpse at the sorcerer’s lips.

A trembling hand moved up to cup his cheek and he gladly leaned into the warm touch of the sorcerer’s scarred skin on his. Tony didn’t mean to do it, but his hand found its way to the sorcerer’s hip, hand gripping onto the fabric of his robes.

The eager touch seemed to surprise him slightly, but the doctor quickly recovered with a teasing smirk. The sight of it made Tony smile back just as smugly. His blue eyes were sparkling slightly and from this close he could swear there was a tint of green in them. He could probably get lost in them for days if he was allowed. His heart soared at the thought.

Tony thought about leaning closer, crossing the distance between them and finally pressing his lips to the sorcerer’s. They were already sharing the same breath.

However, he couldn’t fight the feeling that if he did, everything would go to hell. Like the beginning of the end.

The spike in his heart rate could easily switch into the palpitations he was so used to.

Something must have shown in his face, as Stephen suddenly cleared his throat and took a step back. Tony tried to ignore the loss of his hand on him, dropping his own sadly as he swallowed. “I should probably get going now. I haven’t shown my face in Kamar Taj all day.”

“Yeah, of course,” Tony blinked, fighting back the mix of dread and relief in his stomach. He didn’t want the sorcerer to leave, but he couldn’t help but feel like he’d dodged a bullet. Taking temptation away was step one of being a good ex-addict after all. 

“Thank you for dinner, Tony.” The sorcerer gave him one last smile, before he turned and portalled away.

_Tony. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I love writing Harley
> 
> Next chapter: lunch and New Asgard
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot


	8. Chapter 8

It didn’t take long for Tony to miss the sorcerer. He’d missed him the moment he’d portalled away, continued missing him through breakfast the following morning and couldn’t stop thinking about him during his SI meetings. He resented Pepper’s knowing smirk every time she’d have to pull his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Just go visit him, Tony,” she insisted when the final meeting of the morning was over. Tony tried not to scowl and pout like a teenager. He was a grown man and should be able to deal with not seeing his crush for more than… He checked his watch. More than sixteen hours for god’s sake.

“I have too much work to do,” he lied, grabbing some trinkets lying on the table in front of him. Pepper took them out of his hands, ignoring his indignant stare.

“No, you don’t. Rhodey’s team is free today and I’ll probably be home sooner if you’re not here to bother me.” She smiled at him and Tony knew what that look meant. It meant she would not be taking any bullshit from him today.

He couldn’t help but feel relieved though. He had been worrying throughout the last twelve hours, afraid he’d messed everything up with Stephen. What if he’d hurt Stephen’s feelings? What if Stephen thought Tony wouldn’t want to spend time with him anymore?

He didn’t know how the sorcerer saw him. What he thought about the man who seemed to wreck everyone he touched. Clearly, he’d wanted to kiss Tony, right? _Right?_ But how significant was that? Was it supposed to be casual? Was he even single? He’d seen him interact with Christine, maybe that’s just how he was with close friends?

However, something in Tony wanted Stephen to at least know how much Stephen meant to _him. _Was that unfair?

Tony had few people in his life that he let close, but once you were in you were _in. _He wasn’t planning on letting anyone he cared about roam around outside of his reach. He needed to be able to help them when needed, to protect them and make sure they were alright.

He shook that thought out of his head as Pepper ushered him out of the room. Tapping his arc reactor housing unit, he stalked reluctantly over towards one of the windows – designed by him for this exact purpose – and had Friday open it as he took flight. 

He made three tours throughout New York City, stopped in Queens to visit May and give her an update on Peter, checked up on his old tower, and picked up a couple of sandwiches before he finally got the nerve to land in front of the New York Sanctum in Greenwich village.

He had been there few times before. The old interior wasn’t exactly his style, but he couldn’t deny that it was interesting. Magical relics aside, just the fact that some of those objects had managed to survive for centuries… It was inspiring to say the least. The front door, less hidden once one was accepted into the sanctum, looked normal enough as always and maybe he should just stop stalling and go inside.

\---

“Keep your mind clear,” Stephen’s voice called out over the crowd of students in front of him. “Any stray thought can affect the outcome of the spell.”

He moved towards one of the students that was still struggling, guiding her through the movements and giving her advice on how to keep her breathing steady. It was sunny in Kamar Taj, and as much as he liked Ton – _being at the compound _and training the students there, there was nothing like training in the courtyard, light burning his skin and fresh air filling his lungs.

Maybe he should hold an outside training session with Nico next time.

His thoughts were interrupted by Wong motioning for him to come over. Dismissing his students and telling them to keep practicing by next lesson, he moved towards his friend.

“Wong, what can I help you with?” He asked, politeness dripping through his voice. Wong wasn’t impressed, but Stephen didn’t take it personally as he smiled at him.

“It appears a certain book about magical relics is missing from my library. In fact, it seems to be missing from Kamar Taj altogether.”

“That’s strange,” Stephen offered. The courtyard was already starting to fill up again, Master Haman’s meditation sessions a popular activity with the habitants of the temple.

“Yes,” Wong replied dryly, “it’s very _Strange.”_

Stephen smirked at Wong’s wordplay, but rolled his eyes, keeping his voice neutral, “I’m sure it will show up again in no time.”

“Stephen! You can’t just-“ Wong started, an argument he hadn’t won in the last few years and wouldn’t now either.

“Wait!” Stephen held up a hand to stop Wong, a feeling at the back of his head urging for his attention. “I have to go.”

He turned to leave, interrupting Wong’s protest, “I swear it’s relevant to my duties as a sorcerer,” he assured him. He almost rolled his eyes in annoyance, but he knew his friend was right. He’d been distracted lately. “Someone’s at the Sanctum.”

He motioned for the Cloak to come with him and portalled into the upstairs hallway, right as he heard Tony Stark call out for him. Fondly rolling his eyes, he stepped towards the balcony looking down into the entrance. He was dressed casually, zip-up hoodie hiding the faint glow underneath his shirt.

“To what do I owe the pleasure,” Stephen smiled, the cloak immediately flying over to Tony and resting on the shorter man’s shoulders, squeezing him in a tight hug, making Tony chuckle. Wong was going to kick his ass if he knew he’d been ditched for Tony again. Not that Stephen minded too much.

“Missed you too, cape,” Tony teased, immediately followed by a ‘hey!’ as the ‘cape’ in question slapped him against the head. “Stephen, your carpet is being mean!”

Stephen shook his head in exasperation, looking down at the floor to hide the pink dusting his cheeks. _Stephen. _Tony luckily didn’t notice, as he was trying to negotiate with the cloak to come back to him again.

Hearing Tony call him by his first name was definitely new and he didn’t mind it one bit. He wondered if it was because he had called him Tony the day prior, unable to keep calling him Stark any longer. If he’d known that was all it took to become first name basis with Tony, he would have said it ages ago. He couldn’t deny that the fondness in his tone was part of why it affected him so much, though.

“Look I’m sorry, _Cloak,” _Tony begged, making the cloak pause on his way back to Stephen, glancing back in intrigue. He looked like a dog tilting his head when someone mentioned a _walk. _Without the head. Stephen watched on in amusement, leaning against the banister of the stairs. “I promise I won’t call you a carpet anymore. Come on, I’m chilly.”

The cloak looked like it wanted to roll its collar in exasperation – Stephen knew the feeling – but settled on Tony’s shoulders again. Once the cloak was comfortably wrapped around him, he turned towards Stephen.

“I was in the neighbourhood…” Tony started, squinting his eyes at how stupid his own words sounded. He quickly abandoned that sentence, instead holding up a bag of take out. “I brought lunch?”

Stephen smiled fondly, nodding his head for Tony to follow him. There was that beautiful sparkle in his eyes again. He was going to go insane. “Is feeding me your new hobby?”

Stephen could barely believe his eyes when the engineer’s cheeks tinted pink, a smugness immediately settling in his chest. The Iron Man quickly recovered though, twisting his voice into a haughty tease.

“I like putting in some hands-on community service hours from time to time. Holding charity events gets boring.”

They settled down in the dining room, sitting across from each other as they ate their food. Stephen tried not to think of the evening prior, when Stephen had looked into Tony’s eyes and almost brushed his lips against the other man’s. He tried not to feel the phantom touch of a hand clutching at his hip, the smell of motor oil and cologne intoxicating him.

He didn’t regret not taking the last step and kissing Tony. The soft want in Tony’s eyes had gone over into something akin to fear. His heart had ached for the other man and Stephen had sworn that he would do everything in his power to make that fear go away. Whatever insecurities or doubts Tony had, needed to be obliterated, until they could both fall into whatever this was between them with full certainty. 

“So, I was wondering,” Tony asked when their conversation had slowed, eyes on his food, “how do you know doctor Palmer?”

Stephen was surprised by the question. He’d assumed Tony knew he had worked at Metro General. It wasn’t a secret, and a simple google search would wield the desired answers He wouldn’t have cared if Tony had googled him, but the fact he didn’t sent another wave of warmth through him. “We used to work together. Dated, once upon a time.”

“Oh.” Tony sat up straighter, eyes focussing on Stephen’s shoulder, as his hand flailed around with his words, “so not anymore? You seemed close.”

“Not anymore,” Stephen assured the other man with a fond smile, never taking his eyes off him, “She’s still a dear friend, though. She was all I had after ... after the accident. She used to cook for me, do the shopping, etc, but I was so caught up in my own grief and being an asshole that I only pushed her away.”

Stephen saw the sadness in Tony’s eyes, but was relieved to not find any pity. Instead, there was empathy and understanding.

It was one of the things he loved about spending time with Tony. How he had never treated him as anything other than his equal. Always aware of the things Stephen couldn’t do with his trembling hands but making sure he wasn’t left behind and didn’t feel useless.

“She was very nice,” Tony said, finally looking back up at Stephen, a soft smile gracing his features, “still speaks very fondly of you.”

Stephen gave up and reached his hand out across the table, taking Tony’s in his own. The man glanced at their hands but returned his eyes to Stephen’s quickly. His face, for once, was unreadable, but Stephen didn’t mind. He focused on the softness of his warm skin against his, the callouses on his palms and the colour of his eyes.

“Do you blame her,” he teased, revelling in the small tilt of Tony’s lips and the soft eyeroll that followed.

“You’re such an asshole.” Tony squeezed his hand, taking care not to use too much pressure, and Stephen was glad he didn’t let go.

It seemed like an eternity later when they were still looking in each other’s eyes. Finally, though, Tony cleared his throat and pulled his hand back.

“You need to give me a tour,” he demanded, reminding Stephen of a pouting child as they both stood up.

“Bossy,” Stephen murmured.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re a terrible host.”

“I didn’t even invite you!” The engineer pointedly ignored that, instead started asking questions about every relic and artwork they passed. It didn’t take long before Tony touched – or tried to touch – the trinkets, the cloak slapping him away each time. It was amusing to say the least, but he missed Tony’s hand in his. 

By the time they made their way around the sanctum and found themselves back in the entrance hall, it was almost four pm. Tony cursed under his breath, apologized for needing to leave and closed the door after giving Stephen a short goodbye hug, once again surprising the sorcerer with his tactility.

“You should come by for family nights more often,” the engineer had said, cheeks reddening at the implications of the invitation. Stephen smiled in satisfaction, agreeing to come by the next evening.

\---

When Stephen returned to the compound the next day, he found it empty. That wasn’t unusual per se – there had been plenty of times where the Avengers had gone out for training outside of the compound or had actual missions to attend to. Except that Nico wasn’t waiting in the training room for him either and the lack of the other teens running around was disconcerting. It was Sunday; usually the loudest day of the week.

He checked his phone, and indeed there were a few texts from earlier this morning he had missed.

** Tony Stark: **

_You weren’t at breakfast? _

_You okay?_

_I’m taking your pupil on a field trip to New Asgard today. Come by if you have time! The people (Thor) want infinite beer_

_[_ _NewAsgard.JPG_ _]_

_Either way, family dinner tonight is still on_

Stephen smiled, pleased that Tony had noticed his absence at the breakfast table.

Wong was guarding the sanctum today, so he might as well. Actually, Stephen considered, maybe he should invite Wong too. The man had thrown a fit when he’d learned Stephen had met the Asgardians without him before.

_They have so many artefacts, Stephen! So much knowledge!_

He forwarded the image to Wong with the invitation, before creating his portal to the Norwegian Island.

He hadn’t known what he’d expected from the little town – Country? – The fugitives had been building. He had sent out sorcerers to check up on the aliens but had never found the time to visit himself.

Whatever he had imagined, however, couldn’t be farther from what he actually saw in front of him. New Asgard was impressive of course, but only in that it had managed to be built completely in a year’s time. The structures on its own were nothing big or lavish, far from the huge Asgardian temples described in books.

Instead, it looked like a simple but cosy Norwegian village. The houses were built out of brick or stones, forming humble cottages around a main street. There was a town square visible, with – somehow – a huge statue of Thor, Odin and Loki in the middle. The statue was probably the closest structure resembling anything from the fallen planet.

There were a few shops, selling clothes and furniture and tools that were clearly handmade by the Asgardians. Somehow, there was also an H&M.

The busiest part of town, however, was clearly the little pub situated on the square. Laughter and cheers were heard from inside, along with loud music made from instruments Stephen couldn’t quite place.

It actually fit the god of thunder more than any huge palace he had imagined.

Stephen glanced around, trying to catch sight of any of the Avengers. In the end, they found him first.

“Doctor Strange,” an excited voice yelled from behind him. Stephen turned to face an smiling Harley, coming towards him from the hills behind the town. Peter was running after him, grumbling about the lack of tall buildings. “You made it!”

“Harley, Peter,” He greeted the boys when they were close enough, only noticing now that water was dripping from their clothes. Harley was shivering. “why are you wet?” 

“We were walking along the cliffs and Captain America stepped on some … _unsteady_ rocks that broke off and made him fall into the water.”

Stephen tried to process the new information, trying not to smile at the image his mind conjured up. He narrowed his eyes at the teens, “but why are _you _wet.”

“To get better aim,” Harley shrugged, “I’m dedicated.”

“Harley dragged me in too,” Peter pouted. Stephen noticed Peter, in contrast to Harley whose lips were turning blue, didn’t seem cold at all. He was starting to look sleepy though, eyes drooping and voice slurring.

He waved his hands, forming a simple but effective spell to dry both boys off and warm them up to comfortable temperatures.

“Woah,” Peter’s eyes widened, immediately looking more awake, “Thanks, Doctor Strange!”

“It was no problem.” Stephen glanced around again. This time he could see the Runaways walking through the streets, checking out the buildings and stores, and he could see the rogue Avengers coming down from the same hills as the boys. Captain America was walking in the middle, looking tired and wet but otherwise unharmed. He noticed a small grin on Bucky’s face as he teased his oldest friend, earning a small but fond eyeroll from the captain.

Sam was laughing outright, giving Bucky a high-five behind Rogers’ back. Bucky grinned mischievously before linking his fingers with Sam’s and Stephen could swear the man looked bashful as he grumbled and pulled his hand back.

It seemed the boys’ prank was indeed harmless, but at least it seemed to have cheered them up a bit.

“Are you looking for Tony,” Harley asked as Peter ran off with a squeal as soon as he’d noticed the rogues, finding refuge with Anna and Elsa.

“You know, you called him ‘dad’ before,” Stephen teased the teen, watching as Harley’s face furrowed in confusion, ears turning red.

“What? When,” he asked in indignation. Stephen noted that the teen didn’t deny the possibility of him having said it, only that he clearly didn’t realise he had said it in the first place.

“When you woke up from the kidnapping. You made his day.” The redness spread to Harley’s entire face, but he couldn’t deny the pleased smile clearly visible on his features. 

“So that’s why Peter started saying it,” he muttered under his breath, but their conversation was interrupted by the man in question calling out for the sorcerer.

“Stephen! You made it!” Stephen turned to find the man he’d been looking for. He abandoned his conversation with Thor and what must surely be Miss Brunnhilde, to join Stephen and his son.

“Tony,” he greeted the engineer, smiling in satisfaction and being reunited with the billionaire. “You did steal my pupil.”

“Well, I’m deeply sorry about that,” Tony replied not sounding sincere at all. Turning to Harley, he asked, “Tweedle-dumb, where is tweedle-dee?”

“I’m not his keeper,” Harley shrugged defiantly, earning him a snort from Tony.

“Go annoy someone else, then,” the engineer waved him off, “I need to give the wizard a tour and show him what true hospitality is like.”

“Sure thing, _dad,” _he said, smirking at the engineer when he noticed Tony’s bravado immediately falter. He ran of laughing like a maniac, undoubtedly looking for a next target.

“Are you a – wait, never mind,” Tony asked turning towards Stephen, brows furrowing. “I was going to ask if you were a wizard but,” Tony gestured his hands towards the sorcerer. “How come he only says it when you’re around. What kind of magic are you pulling?”

Stephen smirked in amusement, ignoring the question. “Weren’t you going to show me around?”

“Yes! Of course.” Tony quickly collected himself, conjuring up a confident smile as he gestured for Stephen to follow him.

The sorcerer did just that, falling quiet as he let the engineer ramble about the town, the people, the future plans for the city and everything else that came to mind. Tony talking was nothing rare, but Stephen seldom took time to stand still and admire him whenever he was rambling. With everything going on since the rogues’ return, there had barely been any time to talk about anything else. The few times they had worked together on Rhodey’s braces having been months ago by now.

He still remembered those moments fondly, putting their collective wit together to build something great, to finalize and optimize something truly good for the world. He thought of the braces, now secured around the colonel’s legs as he was free to roam the city, not having to worry about wheelchair accessibility.

He remembered sitting in the lab, watching intently as Tony tried to explain his thought process, the engineer not used to working with other people. The rambling was going a mile a minute, keeping Stephen’s brain engaged and ready to interact. 

Many a times he itched to be closer to the engineer. To twine their hands together or even link their arms as they walked. He wanted to touch, wanted the comfort of the physical contact, wanted to express his admiration for the engineer. But he stayed quiet. He would let Tony make the first move when he was ready. If he ever would be.

That was a thought that had crossed his mind late yesterday evening as he tried to fall asleep. What if Tony would never be ready to be with him? What if he didn’t want to? Would he be ready to have his heart ripped to pieces on a lost chance?

The answer, he found in the early hours of the morning, was yes. He would wait for Tony, have his heart broken into a million pieces, for a chance to do things right by the engineer. He decided that for now – perhaps forever – this would be enough. If he didn’t want the sorcerer as anything more than they were now, he would gladly stay by Tony’s side until it destroyed him.

So, he stuck to the engineer as they met with the Asgardians. When Wong joined them, making quick friends with the aliens and Avengers alike, he stayed close. When they made their way back to the compound at the end of the day, he followed the man and his family upstairs for dinner, helping out in the kitchen where he could, all the while talking and teasing and discussing.

For once in his life, Stephen didn’t want to push the good things away out of fear of losing them. Wasn’t selfish enough to step away. Knew that it _wasn’t about him._

It was _about him. Tony. _The man who had been hurt one too many times. To whom betrayal and death were close friends. The man who was beautiful and compassionate and kind and selfless despite all of it. Stephen wanted to be worthy, wanted to be a better person for him. He knew that if he were to ever do anything to hurt the man, it would be the end of him. Wouldn’t be able to live with himself or the consequences of his action.

It was _about Tony _

_And honestly, wasn’t everything?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roll credits
> 
> I threw in some SamBucky because I could 
> 
> Next chapter: things get interesting 
> 
> Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four days to wait is too long in my opinion, so another update on Tuesday
> 
> Let me know what you think of today's chapter

Things continued as normal the upcoming weeks. Steve was still off of active duty, forced into more therapy and more training. The Juniors continued growing, training and proving themselves. Clint actually apologized to not only Natasha, but Tony as well, at which point Natasha finally started forgiving him. And Stephen continued joining them during family dinner at least once a week.

Tony thought things were going pretty great for him, which was terrifying.

Whenever he thought things had been getting better in the past – whenever he finally felt like he could relax and let his guard down – things started going awry. The Chitauri invasion, Ultron, and Thanos had all caught him off guard, snuck up on him in a moment of weakness. Whenever he had most to lose. 

It wasn’t a surprise that his anxiety started acting up. Add the fact that he had made the mistake of not taking his medication for a week. They say hubris comes before the fall after all, so he spent three consecutive days in the lab, trying to work off his pent-up anxiety induced energy. Feeling more guilty after every meal he missed with his kids, he spent the few times he dozed off restlessly dreaming about a non-existent threat.

Stephen found him on the fourth day. He had been afraid the sorcerer would try to pull him out of the lab, would be angry for not texting him back or for abandoning his boys. Stephen did no such thing though, instead, he simply sat down on the red couch still placed in the back of the room, armed with a book and a cup of tea. They sat in silence together, Tony working with the soft background noise of dusty pages turning in a thousand-year old book.

Harley and Peter came down after school, finishing their homework on the table next to Tony’s before starting on their own projects, the sorcerer still reading in the back. Slowly, as they sat together for hours, he started to relax.

In his anxiety and guilt-ridden daze, he’d kept the teens out of the lab, not wanting them to see him like this, knowing he was starting to look like hell after hours of sleep deprivation. He knew they were cared for. The older teens could amuse them, and they could eat meals with the other Avengers. Their uncle Rhodey and aunt Nat would make sure they did their homework and went to bed on time. They were fine. Perfectly safe. Weren’t they better off without him anyway?

Now, he guessed, either FRIDAY or Stephen had let the boys in, and having them close by was something he didn’t know he needed.

When ten pm rolled around, Tony not having found the heart to say a word all day, Stephen stood up and marked his page in the book. He told the boys to go to bed and they went willingly, Peter moving in carefully for a hug, which Tony gladly reciprocated, quickly followed by Harley doing the same thing.

Once the teens had left, the sorcerer quietly stepped towards Tony’s desk, gaining the engineers attention as he stopped next to him. Tony softened at the touch of Stephen’s shaky hands against his and sighed as the doctor delicately placed two tiny white pills in the palm of his hands.

He glanced up at Stephen, looking someone in the eyes for the first time in days, and dry-swallowed the medication. He only broke eye-contact with the sorcerer as he stepped into the man’s space, wrapping his arms around his torso.

He was shaking slightly, doubt and anxiety and fear of rejection coursing through him, but he so desperately didn’t want them to. It made him feel like he could puke, like he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Stephen quickly wrapped his arms around him in turn, firmly applying pressure as Tony closed his eyes and tried to focus on Stephen’s scent instead of his own messed up brain. The cloak shifted from Stephen’s shoulder’s to Tony’s, wrapping tightly around him.

Tony didn’t notice Stephen pulling him through a portal into his penthouse hallway, but he could hear the distant voices of Harley and Peter coming from Peter’s bedroom. The sorcerer pushed him towards his own bedroom door, the cloak still sticking to his shoulders.

“Go sleep,” he told the engineer, who reluctantly let go of the sorcerer’s comforting embrace. “I’ll be here when you need anything.”

Tony sighed but thanked him, moving into his bedroom and just finding enough energy to put on his pyjama’s before laying down, the cloak quickly covering his body like a weighted blanket. With the soft scent of tea and old books still on him and the medication starting to take effect, Tony fell asleep in only a few minutes.

\----

Stephen stayed in the penthouse living room. He didn’t want to intrude in Tony’s personal space, but he also didn’t want to leave. The living room was safe enough, he had decided, as he had spent many evenings here by now, watching movies or playing board games. Or one memorable occasion when Peter had robbed them all blind during a poker game.

_“Dr. Strange,” Peter’s voice rang through the phone. He could hear the doubt and sadness clearly in his tone. _

_“What’s wrong, Peter?”_

_“It’s dad… uncle Rhodey and aunt Pepper have already tried talking to him, but he’s locked them out of the lab.”_

He glanced at the time, almost nearing five am. He was glad that he’d been at Kamar Taj when they had called him, not needing sleep for at least a couple more hours.

Tony had been asleep for almost seven hours now. At least he hoped so.

The door to the penthouse slid open, and a barefoot Pepper walked inside, heels in hand. She smiled as she noticed the sorcerer.

“Is he still asleep,” she whispered, hope evident in her voice. Sighing when Stephen nodded in affirmation, she placed her shoes next to the couch and walked into the kitchen to grab some coffee.

He heard footsteps coming from the hallway and he turned as Harley quietly walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to him.

“Harley? You okay,” Pepper asked as she walked back towards the living room. She placed a cup of tea in front of Stephen on the coffee table. Stephen sent her a grateful smile. “Do you want something to drink?”

The teen shook his head, staring at the ground and staying quiet.

Minutes passed, and just when Stephen thought he might have fallen back asleep, Harley whispered to the quiet room.

“I thought dad was doing better.”

Stephen sighed, placing his book on the coffee table to slide closer to him. Stephen could see the pain on Pepper’s face as she moved to sit on the coffee table in front of Harley, taking the kid’s hands in hers.

“He was.” Stephen watched as Harley glanced down at the floor. There were dark circles under his eyes that he hadn’t noticed before. “But with these things, there will always be flare-ups.”

Harley continued staring at the floor. The living room was quiet except for the breathing of the three people huddled together. Stephen hoped Peter at least would be sound asleep. 

“His panic attacks never lasted this long before.” There was a bitter tone in his voice, shaking with the effort to hold back angry tears. What he was angry at? Probably the world. Possibly at Steve.

“Oh, Harley,” Pepper reached out a hand to sweep his hair out of his face. Stephen placed a lightly trembling hand on the teen’s shoulder, hoping it would at least be a little bit soothing. “This wasn’t a panic attack.”

“Then why? I know I can make his attacks worse-“

“Harley,” Tony’s voice spoke up from the doorway, voice dripping with regret and still a little hoarse from disuse. Stephen looked the engineer over. His hair was a mess and he was still wearing pyjama’s, but the dark circles under his eyes had faded a bit. Stephen smiled in relief.

Harley’s jaw tensed when he heard Tony, but continued staring at the floor, not daring to look up at him. Tony moved closer, sitting down on the couch next to his kid, wrapping an arm around Harley’s shoulder, the cloak following his movements. Stephen pulled his own hand back. “You didn’t make this happen. This is on me. I was being stupid for keeping you out of the lab.”

Harley bit his lip, Pepper still softly holding onto his hands. He clearly didn’t look convinced.

Tony sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I had an anxiety attack. It happens sometimes – ask your aunt Pepper.” Stephen gave the man a reassuring smile, who sent him a tight smile back. He turned towards his son though, taking his chin in his hand and making the teen look up to him. “You haven’t seen it before now because I didn’t want you to. You guys helped me plenty with making sure I didn’t stay in the lab all night and got a decent meal plan, but sometimes my brain forgets it’s a genius.”

Harley let himself be pulled closer to Tony, resting his head on the engineer’s shoulder.

They sat in silence for a while, Pepper softly rubbing the backs of Harley’s hands one last time before getting up to grab Tony something to drink. By the time she came back, Harley’s breathing had evened out, letting exhaustion overtake him.

“Are you feeling better, Tony,” Pepper asked softly, giving her oldest friend a worried look as she handed him his coffee.

“Getting better. Thanks, Pep.” Pepper gave him the same treatment she had given Harley, wiping the hair away from his face, followed by a kiss to his forehead as she got up.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She grabbed her heels and to Stephen’s surprise, she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek as well, whispering a quiet ‘thank you’ into his ear. When he looked at her in confusion, she gave him a knowing smile. Something sparkled in her eyes, making Stephen look away and focus on Tony instead. Perhaps he wasn’t as subtle as he had hoped.

The engineer wasn’t paying attention to them, instead staring out the big windows while slowly rubbing comforting circles into Harley’s back.

Stephen continued watching the billionaire, noting his features slowly softening. When Tony glanced over to look at Stephen, their eyes met, a soft smile appearing on the engineer’s face.

“Thanks to you too,” Tony whispered, voice barely audible but enough to make Stephen’s heart flutter.

It was so easy to smile back at the engineer, so easy to find comfort in the man’s stare. Knowing that he was here and would continue to be here. Knowing he would be feeling better soon, back to his excited self.

* * *

“Tony, could you please pay attention?” The mention of his name distracted Tony from his conversation with the wizard. His body was fully turned toward the sorcerer, leaning his elbow on the table, attention clearly nowhere near the meeting. How could he when Stephen’s amused little smile was directed at him.

“Always, buttercup,” he replied on instinct, looking back over his shoulder to send a wink to where Rhodey was stood in front of the room. The Colonel sent him an eyeroll, but he couldn’t hide his amusement from his best friend. Tony at least moved to sit like a normal human being.

He looked back at Stephen who was sitting next to him. The doctor shook his head in mock disapproval at the engineer, but Tony just smirked at him and slapped him on the shoulder.

“As I was saying,” the colonel continued, “Bayer Industries is refusing cooperation with the Avengers on this matter. The CEO – Hayes Bayer – is a known adversary of the accords and the Avenger’s Initiative in general - as is his right - but it does complicate matters.”

“Nat should infiltrate them,” Tony interrupted the colonel, sending the Black Widow an amused smile which she returned, “bald men in charge of companies are not to be trusted.”

“Preach,” Hope spoke up, without interrupting the work she was doing on her phone underneath the table. She reached out a hand from where she was sitting next to Stephen, which Tony met in a high five without looking.

“Luckily that won’t be necessary,” Rhodey silenced him, “We’ll just have to work around them.”

“Isn’t that a lot of red tape,” Steve asked from across the table.

“It'll be fine,” Rhodes replied curtly. “Anyway, we’re mixing up the teams a bit as stealth is a major factor. Black Widow will be in charge instead of me or Carol, so Natasha?”

Natasha stood up and took Rhodey’s place in front of the projector. “I’ll be taking Jessica, Hope, Scott, Maya and Sam …”

Tony’s attention slid away as Natasha explained her plan of action to her team. His presence – along with everyone else who wasn’t a part of the mission – was mandatory but utterly useless. He turned back to Stephen.

“So, I was thinking, Monday is usually prime PR time. I could still book a spot to announce our newest Avenger?” Tony put up his most charming salesman smirk.

Stephen looked at him, face completely impassive as he replied; “And what new Avenger would that be?”

“Come on, Stephen, you’re already following the meetings!” Tony groaned, rolling his eyes at the frustratingly beautiful man. “If you’re signing up for the boring stuff you can hardly say no to the badge!”

“Can’t I?” Tony huffed as the man expertly deflected his arguments as usual. One of these days he was going to kick the doctor to the curb. Show him what the consequences of leading Tony fucking Stark on were.

He had spent the last few days thinking about the sorcerer. Well, actually, the last few weeks. Ever since meeting doctor Palmer and subsequently figuring out his feelings for his favourite doctor, the man had barely left his mind. It was as if everything was heightened now. Where before, they could have talked for hours without problem, he could now barely hold a five-minute conversation with the man without getting completely frustrated with himself.

There was always the itch underneath, the urge to be closer, to smile harder and laugh louder, but the ultimate disappointment of nothing more.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he was back in his kitchen, clear blue eyes only an inch from his face, breath against his lips. Other times he returned to his lab, arms wrapped around the sorcerer’s torso. It also didn’t help that they spent so much more time together now, because he could feel his emotions heighten every time their eyes linked from across the room.

He was still terrified of the possibility of something more, but god if he didn’t want it. Every time he brushed his hand against the sorcerer’s and could see the man’s fingers twitch as if wanting to reach out as well. Every time he could see those beautiful blue eyes softening when falling on Tony. Every time the man proved his fears wrong. When he expected him to get angry but laughed instead, when he expected him to walk away but didn’t, when he expected him to get tired of him, but only got closer.

“Stark,” Tony looked up from where he’d probably been staring at Stephen for far too long. Everyone was already standing up and gathering their stuff. The meeting was over then. Steve was standing behind his chair, face stoic. “I need to discuss something with you.”

Tony stood up and glanced towards Stephen, who had followed him up but didn’t look like he was planning on going anywhere.

“Discuss,” he prompted with a hand movement, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible. Steve looked around in annoyance at the other people still in the room, clearly not eager at discussing whatever it was in front of all of them. Tony noted that Carol, Rhodey and Nat had decided to discuss something under themselves as well, suspiciously drawing circles on a tablet a little while away.

Steve hardened his resolve though and didn’t let it deter or intimidate him. “I wanted to speak with you about restoring my active duty status.”

Tony sighed; he should have known. “Rogers, that’s not my job. You have to be with your team leader for that. Carol is right over there; go bother her!”

“Come on, T_\- Stark_! You know you have a better chance at convincing them.”

“Probably, yes,” Tony admitted. Carol and Rhodey respected his opinion, which had been hard getting used to during the first few weeks with the New Avengers. He had been used to being ignored or ridiculed, his opinion considered unimportant and self-serving. “but about this I might be a bit biased, so I’d much rather follow the proper channels of making sure you won’t fuck up in battle anymore.”

“I’ve been following orders, but how can I win everyone’s trust back if I’m not allowed on the field to prove it,” Steve asked, voice edging onto frustrated desperation. Tony just wanted to leave. He wanted to go upstairs and relax, think about what he was going to make for dinner. Perhaps he could order those deserts Peter loved. 

“That seems like a you-problem?” Tony started to move around the super soldier, but he grabbed onto his arm to stop him and Tony flinched, breath hitching in his throat. Steve looked like he wanted to apologise, but decided against it, instead firing up even more. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Stephen’s eyes harden. “Look, just go to the training, if there’s another mission where you’re needed they’ll let you know.”

“So you’re just going to continue sending _children _into battle instead of me,” Steve’s voice was angry and cold, that self-righteous disappointment Tony was so familiar with constricting his throat. “I know you were irresponsible, _Tony, _but using child soldiers just to be petty is a new low.”

Before Tony could react, he saw Stephen lurch forward from his peripheral vision. The doctor's fist connected with Steve's cheekbone, the soldier too surprised to react in time. 

“Stephen, you idiot,” Tony yelled out, immediately pulling the sorcerer back and inspecting the damage done to the sorcerer’s hand. To his surprise, Steve looked taken aback and actually hurt. A glance around the room showed Natasha being held back by Carol, furious eyes locked on Rogers and Hans balled into fists as well. He felt a spark of affection for the ex-spy.

“Don’t you fucking _dare, _Rogers,” Stephen snarled over Tony’s head, voice dripping with contempt and disgust even as he held his gloved hands clutched against his chest.

  
Not sparing Rogers another glance, he angrily pulled Stephen out the door, hand holding on tightly to the man’s elbow. The door closed behind them, cutting off Natasha’s angry words.

“You’re supposed to be a genius, you dumbass,” he muttered under his breath as he made his way down the hall towards the medbay. The sorcerer’s eyes were still clouded with anger, but he at least had the decency to send Tony a sheepish look. “I can’t belief you _punched _a _super soldier_.”

The doors of the medbay slid open as Tony walked up to it and firmly placed Stephen on one of the beds, grabbing a basket with gauze and disinfectant.

“Take off your gloves,” he demanded, afraid of what he would see once he did.

“I’m fine, Tony-“

“Take off. Your gloves,” he snarled. Stephen watched as Tony’s eyes darkened and did as told. He winced when he could feel the fabric move over broken skin but handed Tony his naked hand for him to inspect.

Tony’s jaw tensed in anger. Stephen must have used some form of magic to strengthen his hands last minute, because it wasn’t as bad as it should have been, but most of his knuckles were still torn open.

Tony didn’t know what to say, so he silently disinfected the wounds. He refused to look the doctor in the eyes, not sure of what he’d do if he did. Anger was still coursing through him. He wasn’t even angry at Rogers. He was used to the Soldier’s vile words when he got desperate. He was angry at Stephen for being stupid. He was angry at Stephen’s hands for being hurt. He was angry at himself for not having been able to do anything about it.

He was angry because he was so unbelievably turned on.

“Tony?” Tony ignored him as he wrapped the sorcerer’s hand. “Tony, you do know I’m both a doctor and a sorcerer, right?”

Tony grit his teeth, reluctantly looking up at Stephen. He saw the sorcerer’s eyes darken when their eyes met, undoubtedly having noticed the harshness in his own.

“I’m sorry.” Stephen’s voice was soft as he looked at the engineer, but his eyes remained a stormy turquoise. His gaze moved over the engineer’s face as if searching for something. 

Tony took a step back, needing to distance himself for a bit. The proximity to the sorcerer was making his already hazy mind even more confused. He turned away from Stephen, breathing harshly. He needed to _think._

“Tony?”

The sound of Stephen whispering his name was his undoing. He turned around, still breathing heavily as he closed the distance between them again, this time not stopping until he had one hand in the sorcerer’s hair and the other on the back of his neck, pulling him closer until their lips were pressed firmly together.

  
He could feel Stephen’s tiny gasp against his lips as he moved to reciprocate, hands placed tantalisingly soft on Tony’s hips. The kiss was soft and warm, Stephen being the one who deepened it, opening his mouth and legs to grant Tony access to move closer, pulling lightly at his shirt. He gladly followed, relief flowing through him at finally being able to taste Stephen’s lips, to put his brain on hold and revel in the scent of the sorcerer, the feel of his mouth on his.

Time stopped as they stood in each other's embrace, Stephen still perked on the bed and Tony standing impossibly close, tilting his head to reach the sorcerer’s lips.

Tony’s hand moved from the back of Stephen’s neck to his shoulder, but it was Stephen who eventually pulled away. He didn’t go far – luckily or Tony would have rioted – instead he rested his forehead to Tony’s, both breathing heavily. Tony swallowed.

His eyes were doing that searching thing again, desperation in his gaze as he searched and searched. Tony distracted himself by taking in the sorcerer’s flushed appearance, a new wave of arousal washing over him as he noticed the red cheekbones he loved so much.

“What,” Tony finally asked, “what are you looking for?”

“I’m not sure,” Stephen replied, narrowing his eyes, “doubt? Fear? Regret?”

Tony moved his head back as he let out a burst of laughter, grabbing the sorcerer’s hand that wasn’t bandaged. “Oh, don’t worry, I have plenty of those.”

His smile softened as he leaned in to kiss the sorcerer’s frown away. “But not about you. I don’t think,” he added truthfully, running a finger over Stephen’s scars. “Definitely not about this. This was great. We should do this more often.” He raised a suggestive eyebrow at the doctor who huffed and rolled his eyes but tugged his hand back so he could pull Tony in for another kiss.

This time the kiss deepened almost immediately, Tony pulling the sorcerer as close as possible. It was hard to be scared about the future, when he was so thoroughly enjoying the present. He was sure he’d worry about it later, but right now, he moaned into Stephen’s mouth as the doctor did something amazing with his tongue, making heat erupt in his groan. He could feel Stephen's smug smirk against his lips and Tony was sure to bite it away, revelling in the way his grip tightened on Tony's shirt collar.

The sound of the doors sliding open had them jumping apart. Tony taking a few steps back but not going far, hand staying on Stephen’s leg as he forced his eyes away from the sorcerer. Stephen cleared his throat as they turned to look towards Natasha, who was waiting in the doorway, eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Good to know you kissed him or I’d have to," she smirked, "I take it your hand is okay?” Stephen glanced at Tony in amusement, making Tony roll his eyes fondly at his friend.

“Yes, Tasha, he’s an idiot but alright.”

“Idiot, maybe,” Natasha hummed. “The kids are home and looking for you so.” She waved her hand in their direction, indicating they had to clean themselves up, before turning around and walking back out, doors sliding shut behind her.

Tony realised that yes, they looked a mess. Stephen’s hair was anything _but_its usual neat styling from where Tony had carded his hands through it. His lips were red and a little bit more swollen than usual, pupils still blown wide. The sight of him like this made him want to kiss him again, so he did, because apparently, he could now do so.

Stephen groaned into the kiss but moved his hands up to straighten out Tony’s shirt collar, hands moving down to tuck the shirt back into his pants.

“You know,” Tony leaned back in amusement, “we should do that in reverse sometime.”

“We just did,” Stephen teased back, raising an unimpressed eyebrow and getting up from the bed. “Dear sir, what do you take me for? Take me on a date first.”

Tony’s eyes sparkled at the challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter will be posted on Thursday and the sequel will start shortly after. 
> 
> If you like Supreme Family Fluff I'd recommend sticking around.
> 
> Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay final chapter! 
> 
> If you want to avoid the smut you can just scroll down once you see the ^^^^ and pop back in at the second ^^^^.

Stephen met Tony the next evening. He had been told to wait near the entrance of the compound, so he did.

He could still hardly belief it had finally come to this. To be able to spend an entire evening alone with whom had quickly become his favourite person. He loved family nights with Harley and Peter, but this was something else completely. This would be just the two of them in a completely different context.

Calling Christine to ask for one of his old suits had been awkward to say the least. His friend had spent the first five minutes, after her initial squeal about his date with Tony Stark, telling him how she had _told him so_. It had brought a smile to his face though, having a normal conversation with his former colleague again.

So, he was wearing an old suit, with some slight alterations to make it a little less tight around the arms and chest, and he knew he looked pretty damn good. It was nothing compared to what Tony walked out with though. 

He had seen the man in suits plenty of times, but never a simple black on black. Another Etro tie – this time in red and gold – was peeking out from underneath his collar, making Stephen smirk. His hair was combed back, face free from glasses.

“Good evening,” Tony smiled smugly as he neared the doctor, giving him an appreciative ones-over. “You look amazing.”

“As do you,” Stephen smiled back as he unabashedly admired the man in front of him.

“Let’s go then.” Tony grabbed the sorcerer’s arm, pulling him close and linking his hand under his elbow. Stephen let himself be led to the bottom of the steps and before he could start panicking about the possibility of getting into a car, he noticed Nico waiting for them.

“Mister Stark, Doctor Strange,” she greeted them with an amused smile, before she moved to open a portal for the both of them.

Stephen turned to Tony, giving him a raised eyebrow. “You couldn’t have just asked _me_? Why?”

“You’re off-duty,” Tony shrugged with a sly smirk and a wink. Stephen rolled his eyes and lightly poked Tony‘s side. It was rather pathetic, with his hands being so weak, and usually he would have been embarrassed, but with Tony he didn’t mind. The man just squirmed away from him and looked at him in betrayal.

They stepped through the portal; Tony thanking Nico as Stephen was too busy taking in the new surroundings.

They were standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The floor underneath Stephen’s feet were covered in tiles leading up to the edge where they crumbled down into the water. He smiled, a warm ocean breeze sweeping his hair back. 

Where it had been dark in New York, the sun was only setting here, hanging low over the horizon and casting an orange glow on the restless waves.

“Welcome to my Malibu Mansion,” Tony grinned, stepping up next to the sorcerer.

“Not much of a Mansion,” Stephen teased, sending Tony a pointed look, “I hope you at least learned your lesson.”

Tony blushed sheepishly, turning his face away towards the beach. “About giving strangers my address? Not really. But, hey,” Tony looked back, usual smugness returned to his eyes, “most of the time it works out nicely.”

Stephen smiled fondly, letting the man take his hand and turn him around. There was a small table set up for two in the middle of the ruins that Stephen hadn’t noticed before. Tony pulled him up a chair, picture perfect gentleman, making Stephen roll his eyes.

“Do you miss it,” Stephen asked, placing a napkin over his lap.

“In some ways.”

Stephen cocked his eyebrow, urging him to elaborate. He watched as Tony looked away, trying to find the words. He looked clearly at ease on top of the cliff, a sense of belonging waving off him.

“I loved the mansion. It was my home for most of my adult life. Huge windows overlooking the ocean, giant garage to play in, JARVIS, …,” Stephen saw Tony’s eyes sadden at the mention of his old AI. His own heart ached. “But it was lonely. Yes, I had the bots and JARVIS and Pepper was around most of the time, but Pepper had actual work to do and at the end of the day she would leave her stuffy old boss alone.”

“It was better once Pepper moved in, but by that point I already felt like calling out a terrorist organisation.”

“So, you miss the house, but not the life,” Stephen asked, reaching out a hand over the table. Tony looked pleasantly surprised as he took the hand in his own. Stephen knew the feeling. It was still weird to him that he could ask for affection from the other man and expect it to be given.

“Yeah, there were a few wonky years in between, but now at the compound…” Tony shrugged, smile crinkling around his eyes. “I love how my life turned out in the end. Would be nice to get there without the trauma, but hey.”

Stephen leaned his head back in a burst of laughter, giving the billionaire’s hand a soft squeeze. Suddenly, two bots Stephen recognised from the lab came crawling towards them, each holding a plate of food. Stephen sent Tony an amused smile as DUM-E and U placed a plate in front of both of them. It smelled amazing.

“So, do you miss your old life,” Tony asked as they both dug in, the light starting to fade with every second.

“Yes,” Stephen shrugged, “I worked hard to get where I was, and I threw it all away. Don’t get me wrong, I was a complete asshole, but I loved what I did. Magic is great, but it’s not the same.”

“Don’t worry, you’re still an asshole, asshole,” Tony winked at him and Stephen fondly rolled his eyes. “What drove you to become a doctor?”

Tony watched as Stephen’s smile fell away, remembering past demons.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he quickly reassured the doctor, giving the man a gentle squeeze as their hands met in the middle of the table again.

Stephen sighed. He didn’t like thinking that far back into his youth, tainted by past mistakes and loss, but he wanted to tell Tony. Wanted him to know.

“I had a brother and sister, growing up.” Stephen couldn’t help but smile fondly at the memory, even through the misery. Tony frowned, reaching out another hand to fully cup Stephen’s. “One time, Donna got injured while we were playing outside. I helped her and I guess that sparked my interest. I went pre-med straight out of high school.”

“So, what happened?” Tony whispered.

“After my first year, Donna and I were swimming by the lake. When I found her, she had already drowned.”

“Oh Stephen,” Tony lifted Stephen’s hand up to his mouth, kissing the back of it softly and rubbing comforting circles into the palm. Stephen glanced at him in surprise. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.” Stephen rubbed his face with his right hand, pushing the guilt and shame back down into the deepest core of his being. Forcing himself to think about the happy memories, he could feel his insides lightening a tiniest bit. “She loved riding horses though. She would beg my parents for years to be allowed to ride, but they only let her once she turned ten. They said her head was too far up the clouds and she would fall off.”

Stephen focussed on the happy smile on Tony’s face and felt himself relax under the other man’s gaze. “She did fall off quite a bit, but she always got back up again.”

“Why did I think you were born in New York City?”

Stephen laughed, loud and happy and relieved. “I was actually born in Philadelphia but grew up on a horse farm in Nebraska.”

“Oh my _god_.” Tony’s eyes had gone wide. He took his hands back, fake horror clear on his face. “I’m in a relationship with a country boy. A Nebraskan kid.” Stephen rolled his eyes. “I’m going to need a minute.”

In the end, they kept their conversation light and easy as they finished their meal. Once their plates were empty, Tony stood up and pulled Stephen too his feet. Stephen went willingly, reaching out his other hand to touch Tony’s cheek. 

“May I have this dance,” Tony asked, throwing Stephen off.

“Really,” he asked, an amused eyebrow raised, but gladly placed his hand on the man’s hip, “you’re going all out, aren’t you?”

“Hey, you said I had to woo you if I want to get into your pants so…” Stephen burst out laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. Tony placed his hand on Stephen’s shoulder and took his hand in the other. They started swaying together as Tony told Friday to play some music.

“Really, Tony,” Stephen glared as You and I from Lady Gaga started playing. Tony faked his innocence and blamed it on Friday as Stephen pulled him closer.

The continued swaying to the music, Stephen revelling in the excuse to stare into Tony’s eyes. A few weeks ago, being this impossibly close to the engineer would only have been but a dream.

Stephen started leaning in, heart soaring at the little smile that crossed Tony’s lips.

“Boss,” Friday piped up, making them stop in their tracks, lips a hair width apart. “Colonel Rhodes has called everyone in on an emergency mission.”

Tony groaned; features twisted into an apologetic grimace. “I’m so sorry.”

Stephen just smiled fondly, “Want me to come with?”

He let Tony’s happy smile warm him from top to bottom as he made them a portal.

^^^^^^^^^^

As soon as they had stepped through the portal, Stephen was slamming Tony against the wall. Tony’s breathing was heavy, eyes a dark chocolate as he stared at the sorcerer. For a second time that night, their breathing was intertwined.

“Did I ever tell you how hot your sorcerer moves are,” Tony purred, hand reaching up to Stephen’s neck. His sorcerer robes had morphed back into his suit from earlier and Tony let his hand trail softly over the man’s skin before tugging underneath his collar. 

“Oh, really,” Stephen breathed back, taking a step further into Tony’s space, pushing his leg in between Tony’s.

All Tony could do was nod, before he tugged the sorcerer down, lips finally crashing together. Stephen gladly followed, eagerly deepening the kiss as he pushed Tony farther up against the wall. Tony moaned into his mouth and it quickly became Stephen’s favourite sound. Grabbing the shorter man’s hips, he ground his own forward, feeling the engineer’s hardness against his thigh still firmly placed between his legs. There was that moan again, making Stephen’s head spin. He threw his head back, trying to regain some self-control, but Tony followed, immediately latching onto his neck, sucking kisses into the sensitive spot under his ear.

Tony’s hands were making quick work of undoing Stephen’s tie, pausing every few times to pull the sorcerer closer. Stephen in turn was pulling at Tony’s shirt, shoving his trembling hands underneath as soon as he gained the access. The warmth coming from Tony’s skin felt amazing. He explored the man’s torso, moving his sensitive hands over the little trail of hair on the engineer’s stomach and up to his firm, scarred chest.

“Stephen,” the engineer whispered. He could feel his breath against his ear and shuddered. “Bed. Please.”

Stephen nodded, unable to stop a groan at Tony’s soft pleas. He stepped back from the wall, hooking his hands around Tony’s back to pull him along with him. He leaned his head back down to capture Tony’s lips with his own, tightening his grip at the contact. Turning them around, he started pushing Tony back until his knees hit the bedframe.

Their jackets and ties had already been discarded. Stephen pulled back to rest his forehead against Tony’s. “As much as I’d love to take this shirt off of you slowly, making you wait and squirm as I undo each button, I may need some help tonight.”

Tony tilted his chin to kiss Stephen, trailing his tongue over the taller man’s lip, before he pushed Stephen back with a smirk, putting a few feet between them to grant Stephen a better look.

The doubt Stephen felt at being pushed away immediately faded at the lust in Tony’s eyes. The older man kept his eyes on Stephen as he undid his belt and let his pants fall onto the floor. He stepped out of them and kicked them aside, leaving the bulge in his boxer briefs covered with only the edges of his shirt. Noticing Stephen’s hands twitch, he smirked at the doctor as he started unbuttoning his shirt, starting at the top and keeping eye-contact as he made his way down.

With every inch of chest that was uncovered, the doctor’s eyes darkened, lines of his face hardening and hands twitching at the strain of not reaching out to touch. Tony revelled at the look of appreciation on Stephen’s face, speeding up the tiniest bit as he started to miss the feeling of his warmth against him.

Once all his buttons we’re undone, he stepped forward, crowding Stephen’s space as he started undoing the sorcerer’s. Stephen looked at him in awe, reaching out softly to brush their lips together again. He didn’t stop when he reached Stephen’s pants, undoing his belt as well and letting his hand slip inside, taking Stephen in his hand.

Stephen hissed into Tony’s mouth, reaching back to take off his own shirt, before sliding his hands over Tony’s shoulders and pushing his off as well. Things quickly heated up again, Tony’s hand making soft movements over Stephen’s length, making him grind into his hand. Stephen’s trembling hands explored all of Tony. Tracing the scars on his chest and groaning in anger at the thin line crossing his arc reactor scar.

Tony quickly shut him up by sliding a thumb over his slit and biting his lip. He pulled Tony’s hand out of his pants in response, linking his fingers with his own and kissing the back of them.

Tony gasped in surprise as he was thrown onto the bed a second later. Stephen quickly following after taking off his pants, covering Tony’s body with his own. Their naked chests pressed together as Stephen put his weight on Tony, licking into his mouth and grinding their hips together. Tony urged to trail his hand back down into Stephen’s briefs, but Stephen broke their kiss to smile bashfully at Tony, voice two octaves too low. “Prepare yourself for me?”

Tony’s mind went blank with lust, nodding eagerly as he moaned back into Stephen’s mouth. “GOD, you’re so fucking hot. You don’t even know.”

He revelled in the satisfied smirk that chased away any remaining doubt or embarrassment from Stephen’s features. The doctor really was too sexy for his own good. He reached out towards his nightstand for the bottle of lube stashed there, as Stephen started trailing kisses down Tony’s chest.

Tony felt Stephen’s fragile hands pull down his boxers and he sighed at the friction, shuddering in anticipation. Stephen’s mouth was on him a second later and Tony bit back a moan as his hands found Stephen’s hair on instinct. Tony let go a second later, trying his best not to buck into Stephen’s mouth, as he coated a finger with lube.

Stephen worked Tony to the edge time and time again as Tony prepped himself, moaning and cursing and calling Stephen’s name every time the sorcerer pulled back with a smirk to let Tony cool down a bit.

He had worked himself open to three fingers when he gave up, pulled Stephen up by the hair – not caring about the lube going everywhere – as he pushed Stephen down against his chest and started sucking at his neck. Stephen went willingly, groaning at the friction against his neglected erection. 

He pulled down Stephen’s boxers, quickly ripping open a condom wrapper and rolling it over Stephen as the doctor lightly bit at his neck. Covering his hand in more lube, he reached down again to wrap his hands around Stephen's length. He spread out the lube lavishly, twisting his hand to make Stephen squirm against him, panting into his shoulder. 

“Fuck me, Stephen Strange,” Tony purred, reveling in the redness that spread over Stephen’s face. Stephen turned to look Tony in the eyes, lifting himself up over him.

“You sure you’re ready,” he asked, staring intently into Tony’s eyes, taking in the engineer’s features and flushed appearance.

“Yes, mom,” Tony asked, rolling his eyes. He laughed as Stephen threw his head back and groaned in annoyance. Tony pulled him back down as he pecked his lips, moving his mouth to Stephen’s ears as he purred; “Come on, _babe, _I’m ready_._”

Stephen’s face immediately darkened again, attacking Tony’s lips as he reached down to position himself against Tony’s entrance. Tony’s hands grabbed at Stephen’s shoulders, locking his arm around his neck to keep him close as he reached up his legs to wrap around Stephen’s hips. The movement pushed Stephen closer, his tip moving past his rim as they both groaned.

Tony threw his head back into the pillow, Stephen gladly moving to suck at his neck as he slowly pushed further inside, stretching Tony open inch by inch. Tony forgot to breathe at the feeling of pleasure and pain coursing through him. Once Stephen was completely inside, they stayed still for a minute, both revelling in the feeling of being as close as two people could be.

  
Tony grabbed Stephen’s face and busied himself with peppering his features in kisses, enjoying the goofy smile and crinkled nose that appeared at the action, before he told Stephen to move. They both moaned as Stephen started up a steady pace, Tony moving a hand down to squeeze softly at Stephen’s ass. Stephen shuddered at the touch and Tony was sure to repeat it a few times as Stephen continued slamming into him, making Tony squirm every time he found his prostate, breath getting raspier.

Tony quickly got annoyed as Stephen purposefully only hit Tony’s prostate once every few trusts, smirking at the squirming engineer. That just won’t do.

“You prick,” Tony groaned, biting Stephen’s lips before rolling them both around until Tony was on top. They both moaned as Stephen slipped out, but Tony quickly repositioned them, so Stephen was spread out in front of him, looking up at Tony with heavy lidded eyes. He pushed back down, moaning at the new angle, basking in seeing Stephen squirm against the pillows.

Stephen’s hand moved up to cup Tony’s face as he started riding him, awe clear on his features. Tony swept down to kiss him again.

“_Stephen,” _Tony moaned as he was nearing the edge with every stroke hitting his prostate. Stephen moved between them to stroke over Tony’s length, shuddering at the feeling of his shaking hands softly pulling at his skin, sweeping over the precum covering his slit. Stephen started moving his hips up to meet Tony’s with every trust, making Tony scream out in pleasure. Stephen’s eyes darkened even more at the sound, grinding his teeth as he rolled them back around.

Tony screamed again as Stephen immediately pushed back into him, picking up the pace, this time hitting his prostate with intent each time. His head rolled back against the pillow, panting heavily at the sight of Stephen on top of him again, the noise of their hips slamming together filling the room, the sparks of pleasure coursing through him with every thrust followed by a twist around his length.

“_Stephen,” _Tony called out again in warning.

Stephen had been non-vocal for a while now, face contorted in pleasure as he continued pounding into Tony, but he reached down now, placing a delicate kiss at Tony’s pulse point.

“Come for me, Tony,” he whispered against Tony’s earlobe and Tony forced their lips together as the wave of his orgasm coursed through him, legs tightening around Stephen’s waist to pull him closer and scratching at his back as he rode out his high.

Stephen continued thrusting into the engineer, letting the man’s gorgeous noises overwhelm him as he was finally pushed into his own release. Tony reached up to kiss Stephen through his orgasm, lazily lapping at his mouth. He moaned into the kiss, pulling out slowly when his body relaxed.

He fell back next to Tony, waving his hand to clean up their mess as he pulled Tony against his chest. The engineer hummed contently, placing a kiss to Stephen’s peck as he started tracing circles over his stomach. Tony rejoiced at their skin-to-skin contact, the warm arm wrapped lazily around Tony’s shoulder, keeping him close, and the exhaustion creeping up on him.

They stayed like that in silence for a while, basking in each other’s presence in a post-coital daze.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

“Stephen,” Tony asked eventually, soft smile on his face as he looked up at the sorcerer. He wanted to ask something and wasn’t sure how it was going to go over, but he had been wondering about this for a while now. “Why don’t you want to join the Avengers?”

Stephen sighed, but the smile didn’t leave his face, which Tony took as a good sign. He moved up a bit, nudging at the man’s chin with his nose, legs tangling together. The sorcerer’s arm tightened around him.

“When I first got to Kamar Taj,” Stephen started. Tony frowned, not expecting a whole explanation, but placed an encouraging kiss on his jaw nonetheless. “The ancient one refused to teach me. But one of her students, Karl Mordo, helped convince her to give me a chance. I’m not sure what his own backstory was, except that it involved a lot of issues with blind trust in people. Turned out he’d done the same thing to the Ancient One.

After I defeated Dormammu - a story for another time - he condemned me for following in the Ancient One’s footsteps, defying the laws of nature as she did. We had rules and he wasn’t prepared to break them.

I guess, it was one broken trust too many. However, he was still my friend, and I guess I don’t want him to have any more reason to distrust me. Or maybe I still want his acceptance, I don’t know… I haven’t seen him in over a year. I think… I don’t want to let my own selfishness or arrogance get in the way of me being Sorcerer Supreme. As much as I’d love to spend more time at the compound or with _you_, it’s not about me.”

Tony pondered over his words for a second. He was frowning but understood. The Avengers wasn’t his path. Wasn’t where he wanted to prove himself. Heck, he was already way more powerful than any of them anyway, and anyone could become the Avenger’s pet wizard.

“You do know you’re already good enough, right?”

“What,” Stephen asked, looking down at Tony in confusion.

“You’re a great Sorcerer Supreme! No matter how you decide to go about it. You’re powerful.” Tony kissed his cheek. “You have a wonderful moral compass.” Kiss. “And a _great _taste in men.” He wanted to place another kiss to his cheek, but Stephen hit him across the head, making him grin.

“I’m serious though,” he continued, looking in Stephen’s eyes to make sure the message was coming across. “I may not have known this Mordo guy, but he seems like he had a lot of personal crap going on. Wong thinks you’re a great Sorcerer Supreme though, and honestly, I trust his judgement way more. Your students speak highly of you and you’ve already saved the universe. Twice apparently.”

“So, you don’t mind me not joining the Avengers?”

“I really don’t,” Tony smiled up at Stephen, reaching up to kiss him properly. “As long as you continue making me little baby wizards to make me portals whenever I need them.”

Stephen rolled his eyes at the engineer, but gladly kiss him back. “Anna and Gert already asked to learn magic, so I can make that happen.”

“Perfect! Now all you need to promise is to continue spending time with me.” Tony was smirking, but Stephen could see that tiniest spark of fear in his eyes, which he would gladly chase away.

“I promise. I like spending my free time here. You’ll be sick of me by the end of the week.”

\---

Either Stephen’s confidence went through the roof now that they were officially ‘dating’ – as if they were high school teenagers – or he could just finally express himself freely, because Tony felt like dying three times a day.

He _swore _the sorcerer was looking at him like that _on purpose. _Brushed his hand over his leg _on purpose_. Played with his hair because he _knew _what it did to him. Called him _darling _in front of everyone because he _knew _how Tony would react.

Despite all of it though, they only had a moment alone four days later. Stephen had been busy with Sorcerer Supreme business and hadn’t been able to make it to family nights.

Tony was working on dinner, when the sound of a portal opening made him look up with a smile. Pavlovian response at this point. Stephen stepped through, the cloak immediately detaching from his shoulder to fly into the hallway.

“Kids aren’t here yet,” Tony yelled after it as he watched Stephen walk around the kitchen island and stop in front of Tony, leaning his hip against the counter. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Stephen smiled in return, leaning forward to greet Tony’s lips with a short kiss. Tony revelled in the feeling of domesticity, being able to have Stephen close like this, to have him underneath his fingertips whenever he so pleased. “How are you?”

“Mmm getting better with the minute.”

“Sap,” Stephen rolled his eyes, stepping away and opening the cupboard to start setting the table.

A strangled yell came from the front door and a second later Peter walked in completely wrapped up by the cloak.

“Hey, doctor Strange,” he mumbled from underneath the collar, only his eyes uncovered. Stephen greeted the teen, the cloak grudgingly letting go by his command.

“What’s for dinner?” Peter moved closer to have a look for himself, glancing over Tony’s shoulder as he stole a piece of carrot out of the pan.

“Chicken, chicken.”

“That was terrible, dad.” Peter rolled his eyes fondly, giving Tony a one-armed hug. Tony smiled at his son, moving to peck his temple.

“Where’s Harley. And don’t say ‘detention’.”

“He’s on a date,” Peter replied, rolling his eyes as he moved to help Stephen set the table.

Tony’s head snapped up at his son’s words. “What?”

Ignoring Stephen’s amused glance, he continued, “Did I give him permission to do that?”

Peter groaned sheepishly, probably already regretting having told on Harley. “It’s not _actually _a date.” He was quick to assure Tony, who was having a slight panic at the thought of having to deal with his teenagers. “Remember Samuel Heisselbach?”

“The domesticated turkey?”

“Yeah,” Peter smirked slyly, “they’re finishing that chemistry assignment.”

“Friday, tell Harley to come home immediately.”

“Little Boss is already on his way up.”

Tony groaned, moving the pan off the stove and onto the table. Stephen placed comforting hand on his lower back, leaning into his space briefly, but effectively soothing the engineer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's kind of a weak slice-of-life ending but whatever
> 
> Sequel will be posted later today so if you're interested in Supreme Family Fluff and/or Mama Bear Stephen it will most likely be worth the read. Subscribe to the series or follow me on Tumblr if you want to be notified of updates. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank the people who commented for that sweet sweet validation 👌🏻
> 
> Tumblr: @funkylittlebidiot
> 
> *Jenna Marbles voice* eeuhm ... that's it


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